Life, My Battle Field
by User user
Summary: Just the typical Max gets pregnant, Fang has a sister, Dylan's a pest, OC filled, action packed story full of fights, betrayal, death, and plenty of questions to keep you on your toes. Who will survive? Who will fight? And most importantly, who will live to take another breath, because sometimes "I want to live life, and on other occasions I just want it to end…"
1. Prologue

**Here's a new story. Hope it becomes a hit.**

**Things you need to know-Nevermore never happened. This story is set three years after the Flock's birthday. Dylan is sadly in the Flock. Total, however, shall be absent. Lets say he's off with the Malamute. Also, Dr. M is good and is still working/leading the CSM (Coalition to Stop the Madness) which is a key part in this story.**

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**Please R&R**

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Life, my battle field

Some will stand,

Others will fall

Some will hail

Above it all

Some will chant,

Others will mock

Some will scream

'Till throats rub raw

Some will stand,

And others will fall…

LIFE, MY BATTLE FIELD SUMMARY:

This is a story of a brave girl named Gwen and her tag-along friend Kale. They live in a place that we all knew as the School, but to them it's The House of Despair. A crate is their only shelter, scraps-their only food. All they have is each other and the wings on their back. 88% human, 12% bird. This is their story. Can you hold on for the flight?

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GWEN'S P.O.V.

With one hand I grasp onto life, only hinged by pure will, with the other I clasp to my only friend, Kale.

We sit side by side, but metal bars block our way. I can hear him breathing and he can hear my feathers ruffle.

It's dark, and I mean pitch-black. You know the kind of dark like when you're laying in your bed at night? Yah, like that's but the blackness surrounds you in a deeper shade.

Nothing is here to comfort us. The cold metallic base of the cage sends chills up my spine. The place creaks and rattles. It makes my skin crawl.

How long had we been in here? Three years. We didn't start out with wings, no. They 'experimented' a new serum. One that had terrible side effects. One that injected bird DNA into our veins. It left us 12% bird. Wings and all the extras were built and formed. _We've changed_…

I use to be the overweight creep who was a nobody. That was until the day they snatched me and Kale from the bus stop. That's when the metamorphosis started.

I used to be the kindhearted, soft spoken type. I was a dork and deemed 'freak'. I never knew how much that word would describe me.

Now I stand six feet tall. My dark brown hair drapes over my shoulders. Eyes of green shine under my bangs. My jet-black wings measure a fifteen foot wingspan. I'm probably pale. Bones stick out. You can feel my ribs. They're like little crests on my stick straight body.

"How long?" Kale asked in a hoarse whisper.

"I don't know. A long time?" I answered with a sigh as I propped my head on one of the bars.

I could hear him lean back. I often imagined us free. I could see me running through the woods, arms outstretched. Kale would fly through the clouds, his choppy, dirty blond hair whipping around. His light brown eyes would widen in surprise. Ah...that would be the life…

"Did you hear that?" He broke me out of my daydream. I rolled to my knees.

"No," I sounded disappointed.

"Listen!" He ordered sternly. I was about to scream that there was nothing there and that he was hallucinating from lack of food and water when I heard a solitary squeak.

"Ok, so a creak. It's just a…" I started to groan.

"Hurry! We must get the subjects and prepare them!" A voice ordered. It was faint, yet sure.

"Gwen!" Kale almost yelled.

"Sh!" I snapped, waving him off.

Footsteps came closer, and with them they carried a conversation.

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**How did you like the prologue? Any opinions, critiques, or comments?**

**How about Gwen and Kale?**

**The conversation will spark joy to Fax lovers. Review and you'll get the scoop!**

**I'm also in need of a few OC's!**

**OC**

**Name**

**Gender**

**Age**

**Appearance (hair color, eye color, wing description, height, clothing, etc.)**

**Personality**

**History**

**DNA**

**Power**

**Other**

**please review and PM. Send in your OCs!**


	2. Start the bidding

**Yay! I got my first review! Yes, I know that kale is a vegetable (this will lead to taunting later in the story). But There are people named Kale, so it's still a name.**

**Anywho! Here's the little hint! Hope you can pick it out!**

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**_SELL 'EM_**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"So, who will purchase them?" A husky voice questioned.

"Whomever wishes to have two mutants. We'll even sell them as individuals!" A woman's voice blabbed.

"Don't you think we have taken this MR thing a little to far?" It sounded like an Eraser.

"Most certainly not! She is our most impressive experiment! We must find her! And especially now that her and the dark one carry the first natural avian-human hybrid!" The woman squalled.

_What?! This doesn't make any sense!_

"They are the _last_ experiments!" The husky voice exclaimed.

"We are finished with them, nonetheless," the lady said, shooing off the Eraser's words.

They were close. Then all of the sudden the door flew open. Light streamed in. It was blinding and I held up my arm to block the rays. Next, I heard heels clacking and someone barked, "Get those worthless avian out of the nasty cages!" I was then dumped onto the floor, alongside Kale.

I could finally open my eyes and that's when I decided to glance up. A woman with long, red hair towered above me. Her name-tag read '_Dr. Bridget Dwyer'._ I coughed and sat up.

"When was the last time these things were fed?!" She shrieked. I thought my ears might fall off.

"A week, two?" An Eraser said sheepishly, it was more of a question.

"These freaks may be trash, but we still could've gotten at least three billion for them! Ugh! Do I have to tell you _everything_! Mr. Chu will be most upset! And Jeb too!" The Doctor scolded.

"We are not trash! We are human, mostly!" I yelled. Bridget looked down in disgust.

"Oh, they can _speak_," she sneered. I scooted away.

"Yah!" Is all I could spit out.

"What do you want with us?" Kale raised an eye brow as he pulled me closer.

"You will be sold to the highest bidder. They can do whatever they want to," the devilish woman laughed.

"Lets go!" The other Whitecoat growled as he came forward. His husky voice echoed.

"We're getting out of the House of Despair?" Kale whispered. I shrugged. They picked us up by the curve of wings and drug us down the hall. I'm fourteen! I can _walk_! They tossed us into a tall cage and smiled.

"Now. Be good," Dwyer warned. I gripped to the chilling bars. The cage was starting to move! We were jerked up!

"Wherever you go, I'll be by your side," Kale assured, his hand slipped into mine.

"I hope, or they'll be dragging me out in a body bag," I barely chocked out. We could hear the crowd grow quiet as we were raised up out from below.

Many eyes scanned over us. Kale cowered behind me.

"We're gonna be ok," I assured. He was shaking, or was that me?

"Lets start the bids!" Bridget had come up.

"Experiment 73 and 74!" She announced as she gestured to us.

Here goes nothing…

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**Please review! Did you get the hint? Send in OC's!**


	3. Sold and Bound

**So in rejoice of my three reviews and four OC's that I have received I decided to post this. It really just gives a slight awkward moment of unwanted romance, but whatever. These are just fillers until I can introduce and write the chapter with the new characters. Who's caught the hint? Anyone? Ok.**

**heres the chapter that my dear faithful readers so obviously deserve**

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**Sold and Bound**

I scanned over the arena. Five groups of people were scattered in the stands. They wielded clip boards and pens. Calculators and phones are held, ready for easy access. I bit down on my lip. The stupid red head named prices.

"8 billion!" A man whooped. The whole crowd grew silent.

"Any higher bids?" Bridget's voice echoed. The room fell silent.

"Collect the subjects at the right corridor," Dwyer ordered. She stepped down and retreated to the underground maze of halls. We were pulled out of the cage. I stumbled. Kale's hand was ripped from mine. He was pale and quiet.

"We're ok," I assured.

"At least we get out of here," he shot a fake smile. That's my boy. I gritted my teeth. They drug us all the way across the stage to a door where the highest bidder, my new master, stood alert.

"Load them into there," he pointed to a vehicle. It looked like a large ice cream truck, just not as jolly. The back doors opened and I was tossed in. Kale followed. Then they slammed the doors shut. The hinges gave a loud, shrill, squeak. I felt like an animal. I scooted closer to Kale.

"At least we'll go together," he whispered. His voice shook and cracked. I could hear voices outside negotiating. Then we were in motion. I glanced out the crack in the door. The House of Despair was growing smaller. For the first time in _three_ years were outside the operating tables and laboratory rooms. I watched, stunned, as it faded from sight. A sigh of relief left my lungs, but my stomach was still in knots._ What's to come_…?

—Some many hours later—

The car/van hit another bump. I was jostled and turned. Then we slowed to a stop. The doors miraculously opened. There stood the man and his assistant. They both had a wide grin plastered on their faces.

"Here, change into these," he tossed us clothes. Then he sat a bag of burgers in our area.

"What kind of test is this?" I asked through bared teeth.

"You're safe now. I'm a member of the CSM. We aren't gonna hurt you," he assured.

"My name is Susan," a woman bowed. Her black hair was pulled back and she smelled of antiseptic. Her white lab coat was buttoned. The man wore the same attire.

"And you can call me Jim," the man outreached a hand.

"Gwen," I pointed to myself, then to Kale, "Kale." I wouldn't shake his hand. I decided to leave him hanging and he jerked it back to his side.

"Ah, good. Now hurry and eat! We have a long day ahead of us!" Susan chirped. Then the doors slid closed and locked. I slipped on the too big white t-shirt over my dingy undershirt. I got a new pair of jeans, that I decided to slip on over my faded out basket ball shorts. Kale did the same. He dug through the bag, cramming French fires in his mouth and throwing me a burger.

"Yum," he moaned as he ate the pickle off the hamburger.

"Safe," I snorted in a mocking sense, "Like we could ever be safe."

-more time has passed-

"Gwen," Kale called. I snuggled closer to what I thought was a pillow.

"Gwen! I can't go to sleep with you laying on my arm!" Kale shouted harshly. I opened my eyes and saw Kale staring back. At first this didn't register. Then my eyes were as wide a saucers. I was laying on his shoulder! Gross! I rolled away. He chuckled while I caught my breath. That was scary.

"You dozed off after I laid down. We hit a bump and you rolled over. Then you wouldn't let go of my arm! You were almost snoring!" He explained.

"Sorry," I mumbled. A dim light shone in. I could see him grin. Then he whispered something to himself. Something that sounded like, "S'ok, I kinda liked it." But I didn't dare ask. _Hadn't I embarrassed myself enough?_

_-do I really need to explain?-_

"Up and at 'em!" A lady's voice cooed. I sat up and brushed my bangs back in place. Kale stretched and yawned. The heavy door creaked open. Susan held a rope and some things that looked like giant rubber bands.

"Sorry we have to do this," Jim frowned.

What happened next was a slight tussle as they bounded our wings shut to our backs and tied our hands together. They closed the door again, leaving us in deadly darkness.

"Surely we can break these," I said stubbornly. The answer to that question was a big fat _no_. Those weren't rubber bands. They were as strong as metal. The rope was almost cutting off my circulation! Before we went back in motion I heard Jim say something to Susan.

"We're almost home. Call Valencia."

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**okeydokey! Plz review! It makes me update quicker! Thanks again to all, and specially to those who have sent OC's! I have room for a couple more if anyone is interested!**

**until the next update...**

**KEEP R&R'ing!**


	4. Introductions

**First off: NEW OC'S ARE IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**a special thanks to**

**- my flock**

**- Shadowfire123**

**•others who have sent a character DO NOT FRET! They will be added later in a secret plot twist! You just have to stick with me until then...**

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**INTRODUCTIONS**

A whole day passed. Kale and I had already arm wrestled, thumb wrestled, and counted all our toes. We were getting bored. The sun had gone down and the chill of the night seeped in. Moonlight shone through the tiny crack between the doors. Kale twiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"What's next?" He asked.

"I don't know. I'm hoping we'll stop soon…" I sighed. Then the brakes were slammed on and we slid forward at a great speed.

"Crap! I think we missed the left turn!" A voice screamed. Then they must have put us in reverse because I was thrown backwards toward the door. I hit with a thud. Then I could hear the tires squeal and we zoomed forward.

"How do these people have licenses?!" I shrieked. Fifteen minuets later we came to a halt. The doors opened for the last time. Many voices boomed. As I peered out faces met my gaze. Dang, there was a lot of kids staring at me. Kale hid behind me. We stood. They gestured us out. As we moved into the light jaws dropped.

"Why are they tied?!" A woman with long black hair snapped.

"Made it look more believable," Jim shrugged.

"They probably think we're horrible people!" The woman shouted.

"Think?" I laughed. All heads whipped my way, "I mean we've been caged like dogs and you idiots bind us like we're criminals, you Whetecoats are all the same!"

"We aren't Whitecoats!" A girl snapped.

"Max!" The older woman warned.

"Maybe if we untied them?" A boy with blond hair tried. He popped out a pocket knife and came forward. My eyes narrowed as I jumped down out of the demented ice cream truck.

"Maybe you should just kick it to them?" A girl about my age advised.

"Yah, that might be a better plan," the boy nodded as he slowly set the weapon down and kicked it over. I quickly picked it up and cut the ropes and invincible rubber bands. Kale squeaked as I made three slashes setting him free. As I turned, wielding the inch long blade, everyone's muscles tensed. Their fists curled. That's when I decided to do the fair thing and not get myself killed…I threw the knife to the side.

"Why?!" Kale asked. I held my fingers to my lips. The girl about our age pulled out a purse and reached in to get something. That's when Kale freaked.

"What are you doing! Is that a tazar!? Oh gosh, they're gonna zap us! No! Lets run! I don't want to be electrocuted!" Kale wailed.

"It's just a phone!" The girl explained as she held it up. Kale sucked in a breath. He was red.

"I still don't like this! Look our wings are loose! These are just scrawny humans! We can't knock them over and run," Kale whispered desperately in my ear.

"We aren't human!" A blond little girl grumbled. Then the oldest rolled her shoulders and two giant wings spread from her back.

Kale screamed bloody murder.

"What the heck?! They have wings! Ahh! What?! How is that even possible!? Oh gosh! They're canabals! They're gonna eat us alive and…!" I thought he was going to climb into my arms and sob. He was pawing at me.

"They have wings!" He wailed, again.

"I have eyes!" I snapped and pushed him away.

"We're just like you," a teen with red hair added.

"They're just like us! How is that possible?! Why would bird-people want to torture us?!" Kale shrieked.

"We aren't here to torture you! We saved you! These morons just did it wrong," the oldest girl tried. She must've been the leader.

"Ya, see, you're safe," the older woman coaxed. I looked around. There was a giant mansion of a house.

"Why would you do this for me?" I asked. They were all silent for a few seconds.

"No one needs to be beaten and bruised," the woman whispered.

"Thanks," I nodded.

"Freeeeeeeeeedom!" I heard Kale cry. He thrust himself in the air. His brown wings unfolded. Everyone stared up in awe as he rose higher and looped. He eventually landed and smiled.

"Done?" I almost growled. He was acting like a four year old…with wings…who had been locked in a cage for years…forget it.

"Welcome home," The woman smiled and gestured to the house.

"And my name is Dr. Valencia Martinez," she held out her hand.

"Gwen," I shook it, "And the crazy ones Kale."

"Kale? Like that real leafy lettuce looking stuff?" The red-head tried not to laugh. Kale crossed his arms and frowned.

"No! It's my name! And I didn't pick it!" Kale snapped.

"Iggy! Don't be so disrespectful," The Doctor warned.

"Iggy?" I questioned.

"Yah! It stands for igneous! The kind of rock made from magma!" The boy snapped. He didn't look at me. He only stared forward. That's when I looked closer at his eyes. They were cloudy. Iggy was blind. I felt uncomfortable. _How had I not noticed?_

"And I'm Nudge!" The girl about our age with the "tazar" introduced.

"And that's Gazzy, and Angel, Max, Fang, Ella-who doesn't have wings-, and there's some others in the house!" Nudge pointed to each as she said their names.

"Thanks!" I interrupted. She grinned enthusiastically.

"You all must be exhausted!" The Doctor exclaimed. She grabbed us by the ear lobe and pulled us inside. We passed three unknowing mutants who were trying to sing karaoke. A boy and two girls.

"Igneous! Make these starving children a sandwich!" She ordered. We stood there dumbfounded and confused. Then the woman marched out, like this was normal-letting the blind kid cook. I was afraid he'd cut himself while he was chopping the tomatoes!

"Do you have to stand here? Go to the living room and meet flock number two," he waved the knife about and Kale gripped to my arm. I slowly stepped back and strolled into the living room, Kale hanging like a name-brand purse around my shoulder.

"Sup?" I asked. My voice came out harsh, I'll admit, but what happened next scared the crap out of me. The boy turned around, alarmed. He squalled something that sounded like "Get down Ebony!" as he pushed the older girl to the couch. She fell down will an "oof!". Then the boy freaking turned around and lunged at Kale, who had suddenly released me from his iron grip and was bolting for the door screaming while his arms flailed.

The boy tackled him to the ground and began slugging my poor little innocent Kale! Anger raged inside of me as I ran up. I grabbed the older boy by the shoulders, and slung him five feet away-into a table. Then a girl with red hair came forward. She was pretty. Her hair started dark red at the roots and faded to a lighter red at the tips. Her eyes were crystal blue, they flicked with anticipation. Then she advanced and I saw those beautiful features collide with my fist. _Whoops_? Then she caught on fire! I screamed out in fear and climbed onto the island in the middle of the kitchen. She chased me! Iggy was scolding me in curse words for "getting my nasty beaten cowboy boots in the meat". Ok, so what? My left foot was in the bologna, big deal. Bite me! The girl, who I forgot, was ablaze. She bounded forward. A pitiful squeak erupted from my throat as I picked up a chair and threw it at her. Score! She fell down. I swiped out my wings, hitting the light, which shattering the bulb and sent glass everywhere. I landed oh-not-so gracefully. That's when the other chick decided it would be a good time to join in. She bolted up in an incredibly fast speed and slammed into me. I was thrown to the ground. The older boy was now to his feet.

"DR. M! THEY'RE GONNA KILL EACH OTHER! Or I'm gonna kill them all!" Iggy called and warned. I grabbed a frying pan.

"No! That's the only one Max hasn't burned mysterious food to yet! Give me back my…" Iggy protested.

"Friend! I'm a friend!" I cried at the girls. The two looked suspicious.

"What's wrong with you people!" I heard a voice blare. There in the doorway stood Maximum, ready to give out immense punishments. I guess that's why the three strangers scurried out of the way?

"What did you all do?!" She shrieked looking over at the scene. I dropped the pan and tried to look innocent. Where was Kale?! That's when we heard a shuffle in the closet. The door flew open and there came my, I'm ashamed to say it, friend wielding an umbrella and a trench coat.

"Run Gwen! Run!" He screeched. He swung the 'weapon' around wildly. I face palmed myself. That's when Fang walked in, took one good long look, and smacked Kale over the head.

"Look, everyone, this must've been a complete misunderstanding! What did you all do? Have World War 4?" Max almost growled.

"What happened to three?" I asked.

"Last week we forced Gazzy to take a Beano," she mumbled. O-ok?

"Whoa!" Kale exclaimed. Everyone looked over at him. Most of us sent him a dirty glare. Then he hit a button that made the umbrella open. It hit Fang in the face. That didn't go over well. Kale was beat with it. I groaned inwardly. _Should_ I deny knowing him?

Nudge fumbled in, texting. The second she glanced up she froze.

"Oh my zomg! Are you serious?! I won't clean this up!" She wailed.

Angel followed, a little nervous.

"Max?" She asked slowly.

"What?!"

"Uh? Did we have issues?"

"No! I told you I can handle my own Flock!"

"And that's why Iggy is crying over a frying pan?" Angel gestured to the boy. Max gritted her teeth.

"It was so perfect and functional!" Iggy whispered.

"Flock Freaking Meeting! And that includes the reckless newbies!" Max ordered. _Oh gosh..._

Everyone else filed into a respectful spot on the couch or a chair. Kale and I were left awestruck.

"Sit your trouble making butts down!"

"Yes'm!" Left both of our lip as we dove to the floor, trying to hide from Max's wrath.


	5. Long Lost Brothers

**Thank you my dear reviewers and readers! I'm still in need of at least one more boy OC! Thanks, and I hope you like this chapter!**

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**LONG LOST BROTHERS**

Gwen's P.O.V

This was scary.

"I wish I had that umbrella about now…" Kale whispered.

"You aren't allowed to speak out of turn!" Nudge snapped. Gosh!

"Ok, Ebony, Flair, Storm, these are our new members. Meet Gwen and Kale," Max gestured to us. We only stared at each other blankly.

"Shake hands you imbeciles!" Max ordered. We all jumped to our feet and held out our hands, immediately starting to shake.

"Awww! Isn't that sweet?!" Nudge clapped._No! It isn't!_

I _almost_ screamed "I was forced to do this!"

"Now, are we going to calm down and be friendly, or am I gonna have to separate you five?"

"Be friendly!" We all assured. Well, except for Kale who cried, "I solitary swear to not smack people with an umbrella while I'm dressed in a trench coat!" What am I going to do with that boy?!

"Walk into the thrift shop, be like what up? I got a big…" a voice sang. We all turned to look.

A ghost strutted down the steps.

"Way to join the show, Dylan," Max grumbled.

"Holy Crap!" I screamed. I turned pale.

"Dylan?!" Kale yelped.

We leapt to our feet and ran to him. He looked at us funny and stepped backwards. Dylan shot a confused glance to Max.

"It's me, bro. Don't you recognize your own little brother?" Kale asked warily. He looked at me, just as confused.

"I-" Dylan started and stopped.

"D-Dylan is a clone…" Max explained, "We were told that the original him was killed in a car accident."

Kale barred his teeth. A thousand cuss words left his lips. Angel stared in awe.

"They killed him," Kale repeated. The Clone stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say. Kale, who was usually cheery, was getting upset…_mad_ even. He landed a foot down forcefully on the shiny hardwood floor and let out a exasperated moan.

"Kale?" I called faintly. He looked to me and frowned.

"Gwen, they killed Dylan. They killed him," Kale whispered.

"I know, I know," I cooed as he burst into tears.

Let me tell you our history. The day that we were caught…

_I had been in Kale's class since kindergarten. He never really acknowledged me, like most, but I always had a particular fondness of him. I found out the first day of school that his family lived three houses over. We would ride the same bus._

_His older brother, Dylan, was four years ahead of us. The real Dylan was fifteen when we were captured. We were only eleven. It was a rainy day that I remember clearly. Raindrops pelted the roof of the big yellow bus with the digits 12-3 stuck to the side. I always sat in the same seat. The one with a dirty word scratched midway. Kale always partied in the back. He was, after all, a junior pee-wee football player. Cheerleaders flanked him on both sides. When the bus slowed to a stop, I knew it was time to get up. I stood, was bombarded with mean comments, and had a empty water bottle tossed at my head before I finally climbed down the bus steps to the wet cement. Kale followed. Dylan, on the other hand, was way to slow. Kale waited for him as I made my way home. I found that associating with the popular just got me bullied more. I knew how to survive life, a life where I was constantly beat down. I heard the bus zoom away. It was queerly silent that day. Only the rain washing down the hill made a white noise. That's when I heard Kale scream. I spun around to see what was going on. Eight huge super models were surrounding my neighbors. Then Dylan cried, "RUN!" And I saw Kale sprint from the scene, ditching his gym bag. Dylan was pushed to the ground._

_I could've turned and ran, I should've, but their lives meant as much as mine, if not more. So I shed my backpack and bolted forward as fast as my chubby legs could carry me. Kale met me halfway with the most terrified expression that I had ever seen on a human being._

_"Come on Mr. Prep! Lets save your brother!" I yelled. I snatched a branch off the ground. Then a streak of fire shot from the clouds. It crackled and popped. Lightning. That's the last thing I remember hearing before the earsplitting thunder kicked in. The models turned to wolffish men, and I let out a pitiful squeak. This whole time I had been coming forward at a great momentum. I lifted the tree limb and swung, breaking it over the man-wolf's shoulder. It didn't faze it._

_Now I notice that was stupid of me. I mean, that thing was an Eraser! It isn't natural, so why would a thing from nature kill it?_

_I stared up at the beast in awe. My mouth gaped open. It landed a ruff kick to my chest and I slammed into the road with a splat. I saw, through a veil of crimson, Kale tied and bagged. Dylan was knocked out._

_"What should we do with this one?" An Eraser growled as he examined me._

_"She's seen us. We mies well take her with us. We can at least make a practice test out of her, if not chum," one answered. They chuckled and jerked me up. A giant thing that reminded me of an ambulance, pulled up. We were tossed into it. That's when I noticed my head was bleeding. The mutant freaks let out a howl of laughter._

_Kale went into a state of shock and I laid there sobbing my eyes out. Dylan was KO'ed the whole time._

_Sometime during the night we were unloaded. I don't remember much of the early days. They injected us and we grew wings. Then we were put aside in crates. Dylan deemed the place as 'The House of Despair'. A week later he was taken away, ripped from Kale's clutch. We hadn't seen him since._

That's why seeing the Clone made the breath leave my lungs and pain surge through my soul.

_The Dylan we knew was dead and gone._

Kale is wailing as violent sobs shake through his body. I clutch to him. The kid is in need of a hug, or better yet…his big brother. But that boy is gone now.

"I'm sorry you thought I was someone else," the Clone tried. Kale mustered up all his strength.

"S'ok, I was j-just hoping he had made it. That's all," Kale sniffled as he wiped his eyes. The Clone gave a lopsided smile.

"I thought at least someone was happy to see me. I must be the bearer of bad news," he mumbled.

"My names Gwen, and that's Kale," I held out my hand, but instead of a shake I got a fist bump. _Ok_? It was difficult to introduce yourself to someone who you already thought knew you. That's just complicated.

"Do we have any tissues?" Kale kept wiping his nose on his shirt.

"Yah," Iggy sniffled as he passed Kale some. Why was that red-head so sentimental over a freaking frying pan?

"That was the most awkward moment in history," Kale said, very humbly.

"Yep," Fang nodded. Max elbowed him, hard.

"Whoa! So you're like, newbies?" Ebony asked. Was that her name? She pushed her long, dark brown hair behind her ears. Her light blue eyes shone with excitement.

"Yah," I shrugged.

"Welcome to the Migration!" She squealed. The what?! The Clone groaned.

"See, there's a Flock, we're practically the Flock #2, so we're the Migration! You can be in it, IF you show yourself to be worthy," Flair explained as she adjusted her dark red t-shirt that read 'Fight On!'.

"Wait? Like a club?" I questioned.

"No! A _family_, moron! A fighting clan!" Flair almost shouted. I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. I guess…?

"Who's the leader?" Kale blurted.

"You've met him," Storm pointed to the Clone. Well…this makes things even more awkward. Wait is that possible?

"Whoa! Hold your…wings!" Max interrupted.

"Cheesy," Fang mumbled. Max hit him, again.

"Anyway, I'm the leader! Remember?!" She crossed her arms.

"I'm only like three years old, you could probably kill me if you wanted to," The Clone defended. Three years old? Oh wait, that does make sense…

"Lets do it Max! Take the offer!" Fang cheered.

"I suggest you shut up, when do I have to tell _you_ that?" Max warned. Fang sulked back down into his seat.

"Alright! What do I have to do? Catch a rare butterfly?" I joked.

Dylan let loose a sly smile.

"No, you have to beat me at something," he said. I sucked in a breath.

"What?! You're supposed to be the leader! How can I beat you?!" I shrieked.

"I dunno, you pick the challenge," he shrugged.

"I bet I can walk around with that lampshade on my head without bumping into anything longer than you!" Kale challenged.

"I think you already beat him at stupidity," Fang grumbled.

"Hey! Hurtful!" Kale whined as he put on his 'I'm-not-really-mad-I-just-like-to-fake-it' eyes.

"You name it Gwen, I'll do anything," The Clone pressed on.

"Fine! I challenge you to a freaking fight!" I snapped. Everyone fell silent.

"Crap! I was hoping she'd ask to jump off a cliff and see who'd go splat first!" Fang broke the silence.

"FANG!" Everyone cried at the same time. He only grinned.

Why did these two hate each other so much?

"I'd like to see this," Storm nodded.

"If you can beat him, that would mean that you'd be the best fighter of us all in the Migration," Flair added.

"And nobody beats me! Except Dylan," She crossed her arms over her chest.

Oh crap, what had I gotten myself into?

* * *

**mwah ha ha! Ok, so some sadness and funnies. Lol moments! Sorry if Fang was a little OOC! I just thought about lightning the mood! Remember to send in a boy OC! I might just have to make one up…?**


	6. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

**Challenge Accepted!**

The Clone coiled his fists.

"Bloody nose, bloody nose," Fang begged silently. Wow, drastic much?

"I cant beat an eighteen year old!" I whined.

"You picked it," The Clone shrugged.

"He's not eighteen! He's a three year old in an eighteen year old's body!" Flair cheered. Well, that didn't help at all.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded slowly.

He hurried forward and just decided to ram into me. I was sent flying backwards. My wings unfolded, trying to catch me. It didn't work and I slammed into the cold hard ground. Great, not. He advanced again. This time I scurried to my feet. The odds weren't in my favor, so I decided to go where I was unbeatable. I took to the air. I knew that since I was smaller and tinier I could zip around like a hummingbird circling a giant vulture. Wow, I'm bad at analogies, but oh well. The Clone followed. He obviously wasn't built for speed. He was made for impact, for battle. Most males were. For some reason they mixed females with the small agile birds. My wings were long and slender. His were broad and bulky. This shouldn't be so hard. He was on my tail, not my literal tail (just to clarify). Within seconds I had contorted myself into a corkscrew heading strait at my target…him. He almost dodged, but I hit his right shoulder at the last second. He dropped altitude, but not as quick as me. I was about to crash when I twisted sideways. My beaten boots almost hit the ground, but I zipped back up, hitting him in the back. I could hear him gasp. I flew in tight circles around him. He looked dizzy, almost confused. That's when I'd get closer and kick, barely grazing the tip of his wings. He tucked in his wings and dropped like a rock. I watched in frustration as he landed and ruffled his feathers. I spent five minuets trying to figure out his next move. That's when he stroked three times, rose, and flew to the side. I thought he was crazy, that was until he was yards above me. I glanced up to see what the heck was going on. The stupid sun got in my eyes. I was soon seeing spots. I was so disoriented that the Clone had time to dive and land a punch in. I swerved to counter it, but he flew back up. This wasn't good. I was vulnerable. My only chance was to fake being dazed. I quickly covered my eyes and started rubbing them furiously. I listened intently. Then I heard what I needed. I could hear his big wings flap. Eventually they came closer. I made haste and shot up and made a huge arc back down. If my timing was right I'd air tackle Dylan 2 and send him and me face first into the ground. It worked! Only one problem-how was I going to save myself. I tried to get upright, but the idiot boy grabbed my ankle and slung me beneath him. No! I would not loose like this! I swung my feet down below me and held my wings out like parachutes. My feet hit the ground and my knees gave in from the impact. Crap! Dylan 2 landed gracefully and towered above me. I climbed back to my feet, panting. He grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. Why had I tucked my wings in?!

"Mercy?" He whispered.

"You forgot one thing," I grinned mischievously as I planned something in my head. He gave me the 'No-way-I-so-totally-won' look. Then I forcefully let my wings spread, whacking him in the face. With a slight grunt he let my arm go and stumbled back. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and thrust him to the ground. I put a foot on his chest and crossed my arms.

"Now, mercy?" I taunted. He coughed.

"You win," he grumbled. I jumped with joy. I was triumphant! Kale ran forward trying to find me. The moron had the lampshade on his head.

"Kale! Take that off!" I ordered. He fumbled around until he found me and decided to wrap me in a bear hug.

"I kinda like it! Then when I get a good I idea I can be like 'ding' and act like a light bulb turns on! You know, to make me look smarter!" He tried to explain.

"You look like an idiot," I wheezed as he squeezed me like I was a dog toy.

"Aww! I think you like it! I look like a…" he started.

"PARTY MONSTER!" Storm finished. Kale let go of me.

"Yah I do!" He cheered. Then they did some weird shoulder bump and guy-hand-shake thing. I face palmed myself again.

"Welcome to the Migration!" Ebony squealed as she hugged me. Flair joined in. How many times could I be hugged in a day?!

"Get off me!" I growled. They didn't heed the warning. I stood there, arms crossed, wearing a disgusted frown. That's when the Doctor decided to take a picture.

"Come on kids! Lets take a family picture!" She tried. Everyone else cheered and hurried to positions. I shook my head.

"Uh, Doctor?" I started.

"Call me Dr. M, like the others," she ordered.

"Ok…Dr. M…err…do I have to?" I asked slowly. She put her hand on her hip.

"Yes, Gwen! Get in a spot!" She almost growled. I grumbled to myself and behaved. I was the tallest girl, great right? No! I had to stand in the back with Kale, Fang, Dylan, Iggy, and Storm. How could I be taller than Max?! Stupid enhanced giant crap!

She pressed in the button and a bright flash almost blinded me! First the stupid sun, now the idiotic camera!

"Can we please eat! My insides are gurgling!" The Gasman begged.

"Cow or pig?" Iggy sighed.

"Nooooo! Now I can't eat! Don't tell me which animal it comes from! Nooo!" Nudge wailed.

"Yah, I'm with Nudge, we need to be complete vegetarians for a whole week," Ella added.

"Fine! We'll eat Kale!" Storm joked.

"I'm telling you people! Kale is a name! I didn't name myself! Jerks!" Kale screeched. Ugh!

"We aren't herbivores!" Flair disagreed.

"Well, were omnivores, meaning we can eat both," Ella went into a nerdy state.

"Oh, gosh. Just her talking about it makes me want to puke rainbows!" Kale groaned. Everyone shot him a confused look.

"Well, I figured if I said puke and then that it would mean green. Meaning I had eat veggies and I don't like…" he blabbered.

"Shut up!" Ebony snapped. Kale smiled.

"Kids! Go inside! Iggy I order you to make food," Max said.

"But Gwen broke my frying pan!" Iggy whined.

"Fine! I'll cook!" Max offered.

"Nooooo! I'll do it!" Iggy assured. Ok, good, because from what is heard Max sucks at cooking.

"I'll race yah!" Storm challenged.

"Deal!" Kale, Dylan, and Gazzy cried. Then they were off. Their feet pounded into the earth.

"Not without me!" Ebony snapped. She had caught up within seconds and passed the finish line, the porch, four yards ahead of the boys.

"How are you so fast?!" Kale panted as he laid down in the grass.

"Easy, 4% lioness helps a lot," she grinned.

"And it makes you vicious!" Storm joked as he grabbed Ebony. She screamed as he pulled her into a hug.

"You all are disgusting! PDA!" Flair wailed as she faked gagging. I really didn't want to run. I decided flying would be easier. My long, black wings stretched behind me. I soared through the clouds and landed on the roof. I have to admit, that was a stupid idea. When my right foot hit the shingles broke, sending me sliding. I fell off the roof in a clump of feathers and limbs helplessly flailing.

I rolled off the edge, right over the gutter. I thought about how all of my bones would be broken. No, no, NO! I was scared. I was an idiot. As the ground neared I shut my eyes.

But I didn't hit the ground with a thud, no, I landed in something soft and warm. I opened my eyes to see what had happened. Someone brushed the hair out of my face. I peered through my bangs to see Kale, smiling. He had caught me!

I panicked an pushed away, screaming, "Let go off me!" He dropped me. That's when the thud came. I quickly sprang to my feet and dusted myself off.

"Clumsy!" He taunted.

"I'm not clumsy! I'm just not…sure-footed," wow that was lame.

"Sure princess, and your knight in shining armor caught you as you fell from the castle," Storm teased.

"Shut up!" I growled.

"And I'm the dragon! Roar!" Dylan screamed as he shoved me.

"I can kick your butt! You remember that!" I threatened.

"Aww, don't be so harsh on them. Besides, don't you know that their brains were removed?" Flair grinned.

"What's going on?!" A voice yelled. Jim and Susan came bounding outside, the screen door was flung open in haste.

"Gwen fell off the house," Angel explained.

"Oh! I thought someone had died!" Jim breathed as he gained his breath.

"She's clumsy," Kale whispered to him. I glared at the blond. His big brown eyes shone with innocence. That's when I gave him the 'this-isn't-over' sign. He shrugged and flashed a grin.

"Gwen, we wanted to ask you something," Susan dimmed the playfulness.

"Ya, what," I crossed my arms.

"Do you know why they sold you?" She questioned.

"Oh! I do!" Kale raised his hand eagerly.

**ok, so the next chapter will be CRITICALLY IMPORTANT! It sets the plot. **

**Thanks to all who have sent in OC's! They will appear eventually. **

**PDA (Public Display of Affection) **

**please review and PM!**


	7. Secrets Revealed

**Ok, so here's that chapter. It's crucially important and things are explained! I want to thank those of you have sent in OC's. They will be added in in a few chapters.**

**Secrets Revealed**

"Well, do go on!" Susan crossed her arms.

"Ok, so this woman name Bridget Dwyer, the exact decedent of the devil…" Kale began.

"BRIDGET DWYER! The red headed, high heeled, dork?!" Max interrupted, fury radiate from her words.

"Exactly," I nodded.

Max sent a glare to Fang. He cowered back a bit. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as if trying to say, "I told you so!"

Dr. M started twiddling her fingers. The other Flock members looked sick as they looked to each other for answers.

"Anyway…so she was clanking down the hallway in her giant sky scraper shoes with daggers for heels when we heard her start talking. She was yelling. Then one asked if they were taking the little MR thing to far, by you know selling us-their so-called 'last experiments'. And she was all like 'NO! She is our most impressive experiment! We must find her! And especially now that her and the dark one carry the first natural avian-human hybrid!' And I was all like 'WHAT?!' And thats how I happened." Kale said dramatically.

Max's jaw dropped. Fang covered his mouth. Dr. M gasped. Ella's eyes widened. Nudge screamed. Iggy almost threw up. Gazzy frowned and looked around like something crazy was going on. Angel did all of these things. Storm coughed. Ebony chewed on her nails. Flair, being the person she is, yelled, "Max! You're pregnant?!"

And that's when it donned on me.

'MR' means Maximum Ride!

'Carrying the fist natural avian-hybrid…'

Why hadn't I noticed before?!

Everyone gawked at Max. She tried to hide. Suddenly she got an extreme interest in her shoes. Fang too.

"How could you not tell me?!" Nudge wailed.

"Yah!" The rest of the Flock frowned.

"I-I don't know! I was worried!" Max shouted. Fang laid a hand on her shoulder as he moved closer. Dylan appeared to be disgusted.

"Of coarse!" He growled as he spread his wings and took a few powerful downbeats. I watched him fly off.

"We, we didn't know how to tell you all!" Max defended. Then, for the second time today, I noticed something. Max wore a ring on her finger. It was hard to believe that she was eighteen, and married.

"H-How would they know?" I spoke up. Everyone turned to stare. Then they chewed on their lips as the realization hit them.

"If we didn't know, then how would they?" Ebony asked quietly.

"Either they have super data systems tracking you, or there's a traitor," I tried.

"I'm the only other one who knows!" Dr. M added.

"There's no way! I didn't know until a week ago! It's not even noticeable!" Max was panicking.

"Looks like you finally got it, huh Fang?" Iggy wiggled his eyebrows. Pervert.

"And when were you going to tell us?!" Ella frowned.

"Eventually! I swear! Once I could get it sorted out in my own head!" Max promised.

"Sure," Nudge rolled her eyes.

"What if they come looking? They really want you," I whispered. They fell silent once again. Fang's grip tightened around Max.

"They could…could get us! They could get us Fang!" Max worried as she buried her face into his shoulder.

Then there was about a half hour full of questions. Awkward.

"They c-could get the baby," Max stated.

"That's your problem," Dylan's voice blared. He landed swiftly and crossed his arms over his chest. He'd come back from his little temper tantrum. I thought Fang might hiss by the looks he was shooting Dylan. Max looked upset, mad, even guilty.

"But, we'll lend a hand, protect whatever we can," Dylan said grimly as he nodded at us.

Dr. M shot Max a glare, almost ordering her to say thanks, but Max denied.

"The Migration is here to do the dirty work while you all live your pretty little perfect lives," Dylan sneered as he turned to go into the house.

"Thank you…Dylan," Max blurted. Fang frowned down at her.

"Don't mention it, maybe they'll rip my throat out, you know put me out of my _misery_," Dylan spat over his shoulder. Then he stalked off, anger flaring.

Then it clicked. Dylan must like Max! Oh my gosh, I'm slow.

"I-it's the least we could do Max, after all…you saved us. Maybe we can save the next generation," Ebony added as she followed our leader to the house.

"Poor Dylan! Do you know what you do to that poor boy…?" Flair began. Storm slapped a hand over her mouth and threw her over his shoulder, following Ebony to the mansion.

"Gwen, I have no idea what's going on," Kale whispered.

"Sh!" I snapped. He frowned and scrunched his brows together.

"Uh…we'll just, uh…go...inside. Err…maybe if you wanted us to do anything like storm through THOD, we'd do it. Anything for you guys. It's just…ummm…geez I have no words," I blabbered.

"Congrats and good luck, you'll need it with the things that lurk in the dark these days," Kale winked as he wrapped a hand around my arm and pulled me along with him. We came to the giant house and I released a breath in relief. That was awkward, terrible!

"Dude! It'll be fine! She moved on so many years ago…!" Storm urged. Then a door slammed and I noticed that Dylan had locked himself in his room. I rubbed my temples.  
-

Three hours later the Flock and the humans returned. They all wore exhausted expressions. The Migration had talked things over and I was filled in on some things. We jumped to our feet when they came in.

"So…?" Flair tried to start. They looked like zombies.

"We've decided to guard Max until the baby gets here safely. We don't want to loose anymore people, so you all will need to stay here. That means—_do not leave_," Fang said. That's the most I've ever heard him talk. Then we heard this loud gurgling roar and I glanced back to the couch where Kale was sleeping blissfully. One hand was hanging over the edge, the other had a pillow tucked tightly under it. He was disturbing.

"I'm glad that you all heard…" Max began when Kale started up again.

"Like I was saying," Max talked over the intense snoring. That is, until he raised it up a notch.

"KALE!" I screeched. He jerked awake and leapt to his feet. His hands came up to defend himself and he kicked out violently, knocking over a lamp. It broke into a million pieces. He peeked out from behind his fists. Then he dropped them and smiled.

"I thought we were under attack," he mumbled as his cheeks turned bright red. His hair was all messed up, sticking every which-a-way. I sighed and covered my face.

"That reminds me! I need to get you two a room!" Dr. M exclaimed.

"No, no, no we'll sleep on the floor, there's no need…" I protested trying not to be to much of a burden.

"Come on! The Migration has their own floor! There's still plenty of rooms up there on the very top level," she explained as she grabbed each of us by the elbows and lead us up the steps.

There were five levels, each held a different group.

First level was the kitchen, living room, and entertainment system with theater seating.

The Second level was for the Flock, complete with a laundry room and snack fridge.

The third level was the humans and the researchers.

The fourth was obviously storage and where they hung out. A pool table an everything was on that level.

Finally our floor came. The first room was Dylan's. He had a freaking label! Then came Storm, then Ebony's, and finally Flair's. The last seven rooms were empty.

"You're alls pick!" Dr. M smiled. She let go of us. I knew I wanted one on the end so I sprinted to the end of the hall and ran into a room. It was very blank. Only a bed covered in white sheets was in the room.

"You can decorate it someday," Dr. M added. Yes!

"We have a room!" Kale grinned. Then the worst sight met my eyes. Kale had flipped his bed on its side and was trying to fit it through his door.

"What are you doing!?" I yelled.

"We've been side by side for years, and quite honestly, I'm scared to be alone. I just decided to bring my bed in there, then it'll feel safe and I could be close enough to know that Erasers aren't going to drag you back there," he grunted as he pushed the bed to my door.

"Boys can't be in the same room as girls!" Dr. M shouted.

"I'm gay," Kale shrugged. The woman looked at me with wide eyes and a open jaw.

"He's kidding!" I assured.

Then this huge boom erupted as he pushed his bed beside of mine and leveled it out.

"Ah," he sighed as he crawled into the bed, "That's more like it."

"You're not allowed in her room!" The doctor ordered.

"Hey! I moved this bed the whole way here and quite honestly, I don't feel like hauling it back, plus she's safer with me. And that's the way it is. She's not leaving my side!" Kale said sternly. Eventually she gave in.

"This is amazing!" He cheered as he bounced up and down on the bed. I was trying not to laugh.

"Uh huh," I nodded. He was doing flips and laughing.

"Hey guys," it was Dylan. We sat up in bed and looked at him with curious eyes.

"It's probably time for you all to go to sleep, right? Today's been a busy one," he winked as he came over. Kale flopped back.

"Tuck us in?" Kale gave the puppy dog eyes.

Dylan sighed and complied, lifting the crisp white sheets over us.

"Think your beds are close enough?" He asked with a grin. I groaned and slammed my face into the pillow. Kale had moved his bed so that it would touch mine. I swear if that boy rolls over here I'll…!

"Night, guys," Dylan yawned as he turned off the lights and shut the door. It was dark, warm, and quiet. I laid my arms out to my side. Kale's wandering fingers connected with mine.

"There's no more bars keeping us apart," he whispered.

"Yep," I said bluntly.

"Don't leave me Gwen, don't ever leave me alone," he continued. I looked over at him. He was staring up at the ceiling.

"I won't," I barely chocked out. My voice was getting squeaky with the emotion.

"Good, 'cause I couldn't live without you. I think I might love you Gwen," his voice cracked. My hand slipped from his as I turned over.

"I love you too, Kale. Your like my brother," I answered.

"Yah, that's what I meant," he nodded. I was too tired to pay attention and sleep took me.  
-

I woke up some time that night. Kale had indeed rolled over and had me tucked under his arm like I was a pillow. I climbed away and pushed his wing to the side. He had covered me with it for some reason. We used to sleep with our wings stretched out, touching, so we knew when the other had moved or was taken away. Now those days are gone, yet he still hangs on to the habits.

I crawled out of bed and snuck ever so quietly outside. My feet scooted across the cool, slick floor in rhythm. I slowly opened the door and slipped out.

As I wandered down the long hall I heard sniffles coming from Flair's room. I knew it was none of my business. I knew I should've just stayed away, but I couldn't. I knocked on her door lightly and it flew open. She stood there, looking up to me with red, puffy eyes. She looked out in the hall and then jerked me in, slamming the door behind her.

"Are you ok?" I questioned.

"Uh, yah," she nodded.

"That's a lie," I frowned. She moaned and pointed to a bean-bag.

"Sit," she commanded. I plopped down, not expecting to sink so low.

"Speak," I ordered.

"Roll over," she joked. I didn't laugh.

"Why are you crying?" I tried again.

"Fine! I have a sister, a twin sister, who I haven't seen in like nine years! She's at the School somewhere, I know it, but I can't save her. We were kidnapped from our bedroom when we were four, I haven't seen her since. When Dylan and the Flock came to rescue me I wasn't conscious. I couldn't tell them to find her. My one chance was ripped away. Now every day of my life I question if I'm the one who should really be here, living like this. Evan if Alex is still alive, I won't know how to find her. I can't do it alone. It's a lost cause," That's the most emotion I've ever seen Flair show. My heart ached with sorrow.

"What if…what if we broke in and finished the School. What if we saved her and ended Max's chasers? We could kill two birds with one stone," I was forming a plan.

"The problem is…the School is a very large bird," Flair frowned.

"Then we'll just have to chuck a boulder," I grinned.

"Wait! So you'll go Gwen?! You'll help me?!" Her eyes filled with hope. Her wings flapped behind her. They were the same as her hair, only little white flecks scattered on the end. Like her wings were on fire.

"Yes," I nodded. She hugged me and let go quick.

"How?" Flair asked.

I bit down on my lip and thought.

'_Some will stand, and others will fall.'_

Then a sick, gut churning detail sunk in as I remembered the Eraser's words, "…_our last experiments…"_

**OK! How do you like this?**

**i have some questions**

**1) Did you guess the whole "first natural experiment" thing?**

**2) what is your opinion on this new bird-baby coming?**

**3) did Dylan act justly?**

**4) what about Kale's little confession and his little "scene" there?**

**5) do you think Flair and the Migration every end the School once and for all?**

**6) can they find and save Alex (Flair's sis)?**

**The emote reviews I get the quicker I'll update.**

**Sorry about not updating again yesterday—my friend ran over a mailbox…with her body…**


	8. Seeing Stars

**Seeing stars**

It had been three months. Yes, I know. Max is now 'showing', as Dr. M calls it. She is forbidden to fly, which is hard for avians. The Flock lives life like any normal family, thy just want to 'blend'. Us, the Migration I mean, we have decided to stand out. To be ourselves.

Dylan is training us. In a way it's like boot camp. We eat what we make. I never thought I'd drool over Iggy's food. Dylan is a depressed, silent guy now. Kale is chattier than ever. Lucky Storm has stepped up to second in command. Flair is working hard. This had been her goal for a long time, I could tell.

"Gwen! Quit daydreaming! I could've killed you by now! Get back to reality before it lands a right hook to your eye!" Dylan ordered. He snapped me out of my daydream. Flair did exactly what he predicted and I took the blow.

"Ha! I got Gwen!" She cheered. I narrowed my eyes and roundhouse kicked.

"Ah, Gwen, you're getting reckless. Your kick missed the wanted target by an inch," Dylan scolded as Flair bent over in pain.

"I still got her," I grinned.

"Yes, but not correctly," he held up a finger.

"You know what?! I don't care! I mean, if I wanted to be perfect I'd fail! I'll just do my best and fight the way I want to, ok?!" I growled.

Flair lunged. I was still in a heated conversation with Dylan. When I saw her fist flying at my face I caught it and jerked it to the side. Flair screamed in surprise.

"Well, I suggest you take it from me. Look at Kale, he's doing great from listening to my instructions," Dylan gestured to Kale. He was fighting the wall. Apparently he got frustrated and hauled off on it. The next second he was rolling on the ground crying. Punching brick walls results in tears. I already knew that.

"Yah, real good," I teased. Dylan groaned and face palmed himself.

I guess I won that argument?

"Don't make pull out hmy knife!" Flair warned. I noticed that I still had her fist. She looked flustered.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I let go. She spun quickly and swiped out her wing. It smacked me square in the nose and I fell to my rear.

"Payback!" She cheered. I only climbed back to my feet.

Want to know a secret? The Migration doesn't know about me and Flair's plan. They're completely oblivious. It's funny, I know!

"So, when are we going to go?" I whispered. She looked around and leaned closer.

"I don't know. You're the mature one. I'm just following you. I say we should leave soon," she answered in a hushed voice.

"Alright. We need to plan on how to get out. Kale is watching me like a hawk," I continued.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" It was him! I jumped a little.

"Nothing! Uh, how's your hand?" I tried to cover up. Man I'm bad at lying.

He gave me big eyes and stuck out his bottom lip. "It hurts! Would you give it a kiss?" He begged. I sighed and kissed my finger and slapped it on his hand. He grinned.

"My lips hurt too," he said sweetly as he tapped them.

"To bad. Flair, would you do the honors?" I smiled.

"Why sure!" She exclaimed as she snaked him. Kale rubbed his cheek and mumbled something. Then he turned and walked away.

"That was close!" I breathed. Flair nodded in agreement.

"Storm! No!" Ebony yelled. I watched as the blond headed-brown eyed boy contorted the water from the water-hose at Ebony. She squealed and ran away. I laughed.

"Look at the goodie-two-shoes!" Flair sneered. She was referring to the Flock. She hated them for whatever reason.

"Flair? Why don't you like them?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a long story. When I was rescued long ago the Flock kinda kept me 'safe'. They literally protected me like I was a fragile vase or something! I couldn't go anywhere alone! I was way older than Angel! I don't see why they wouldn't just let me do what I wanted! Then one day I asked Max and Dylan if we could go look for my sister. Max told Dylan to say no, and he obeyed-like a dog. I eventually forgave Dylan, but Max never acknowledged it again. I just…ugh! Well, Gwen, I shouldn't waste pouring my heart out on you. You have other problems that are much more important than my sappy life," Flair explained.

"No true!" I disagreed.

"Well, anyway, yah. There you go. Dylan's kept me under lock and key for years. I'm just glad to be a rebel," Flair added.

"A rebel to what?" Kale asked. He had snuck up on us! Again!

"We are sneaking pudding! Ok! Gosh! Stop being nosey!" I yelled. He rolled his eyes and marched off for the second time today.

We snickered for a minuet.

"We shall steal the pudding! Throw us in jail!" Flair laughed through hysterical cackles.

"Shew! We're lucky he hasn't caught on!" I giggled.

"Get some sleep! Tomorrow will be very…unexpected," Dylan said mysteriously.

"More than you know buddy," Flair whispered.

"Ok, Kale, you're sleeping alone tonight. I'm having a slumber party with Flair," I said as I stopped at her door. He pouted.

"Can't I come?" He asked.

"No," I answered harshly. He growled a bit before he turned and stomped into our room. I quickly slid into the Flair's room. There she sat. Our bags were backed and everything was ready to go. We wrote a note stating that we were out 'doing business'. Meaning we were saving more experiments.

The time came when the house fell silent. It creaked as it settled for the night. We could even hear Kale snoring. Flair had been sitting there, spinning a little ball of fire through her fingers. She glanced up to me and nodded. I stood and loaded my backpack onto my back. It almost crushed my wings! We had to make sure that our wings could function because if not we would have to to hitch-hike, which is a NO! Mine barely bent out beside the giant bag.

"Lets go! I'm so excited I can't wait!" Flair clapped.

"Ready?" I questioned.

"Kinfe in boot, Alex on the brain…yep! I'm ready!" She said cheerfully. With that we spread our wings and leapt out the window. I didn't expect for it to be so much harder to flap, but I eventually got the hang of it. Flair, well, it didn't faze Flair. She just went on like she weighed as much as her feathers. As we flew towards the moon I realized just how close me and Flair had become. She's like my little sister, and I'll protect her like she is. We mutants must ban together in this fight. We must beat our wings in rhythm and keep our eyes focused on the target ahead.

Burn the House of Despair.

Rescue our friends.

And that's how my life is going right now-aching wings and a hungry soul.

Today my mission starts. When does it end? _Never_…

**ok, please review! And the adventure begins!**


	9. Ignite

**Ignite**

Flair's P.O.V.

We were still going. I was running on pure adrenaline. Then Gwen yelled something. I had zoned out.

"Flair! Hello! Did you hear the plan?!" She screamed. I looked over at her. My eyes were half glazed over and I had lost all feelings in my wings hours ago.

"No," I said. She sighed and face palmed herself.

"Ok, so I was thinking…if I go in first…then maybe I could get the info and know exactly where they are. Then when we bust in we can get out quickly and know how to land the killer blow," she explained.

"Wait?! So I just…lay back while you save my sister?!" I disagreed. This was MY mission! She was practically just a tag-along! So I told her.

"You have no say in this! You're just coming along for the ride! I'm driving!" I snapped. She gritted her teeth.

"Coming along?! Coming ALONG! No! I'm leading you! That means you're following me!" She growled. Gwen was the only avian in this world that actually scared me.

"Are you indicating that since I'm younger, that I am weaker?! This is my destiny! Not yours! Understand? I can cook you alive!" I threatened as a ball of fire heated in my hand.

"Listen! I'm just saying…I've been in there and I've…" she began.

"I have too! Hint, the wings!" I snapped.

"Yah, but I've been in there longer and more recently. I'm immune to their tricks. I can't risk loosing you, or letting them hurt you. It's just a protection issue," she said sternly. I noticed that her eyes were staring straight ahead. She wasn't budging. That's when her words sunk into my heart and I felt terrible for being so hostile. She just wanted me safe.

"Sure," I whispered.

"Was that a smart comment?" She almost started screaming again.

"No! No, no, no. I'm just saying that…err…I'm agreeing with your plan," I mumbled.

"You're -," Ok, she was cussing, "right you're agreeing with me! -! What do you have to be such a -! Ugh!" She said through her teeth.

"Gwen?" I asked slowly.

She answered with a "WHAT?!" And a lot of filler words.

"Uh, is it time to land?" I drifted back some.

"Close you're dang wings and land in a frickin' clear spot! Then sit down and eat a idiotic nutrigrain bar and drink a big stupid swig of water! Hydration is key! Then shut you're mouth and close you're moron eyelids and GO TO SLEEP!" She screamed. It was funny. She was yelling at me telling me all this nutrition stuff, yet she was mad.

Her black wings folded into her back and she dropped. Mine did the same.

The only problem was when I tried to re-open them to catch myself…_they wouldn't unfold…_

**Ok, this I a short chapper, I know. Sorry. I just wanted to give you something. I'm still working on the Flock's reaction. Anyw**ay.

**Why won't her wings unfold? **


	10. Shorts, longing, and The Note

**Shorts, longing, and The Note**

Kale's P.O.V.

I woke up and stretched. I remembered that Gwen wasn't in the bed. She had spent the night with Flair. I was angry, jealous even, but mostly I was scared.

Gwen always new what to do. She was the definition of courage. I was just a fake. Even way back when I was a 100% human, I was just making believe. I wasn't that good of a football player, I wasn't macho, I can't even fly that well. I learned to hide under Gwen's wing.

Without a word I pushed myself out of bed and hurried out into the hall to Flair's door. With a weak, yet loud knock I waited for the door to open.

_It never did_…

I thought about just opening it and walking in, but they could be snoozing or changing. I decided to stand there and cross my arms. When it got awkward standing barefoot in nothing but a pair of shorts I tried again.

_Nothing_…

I began to shift from foot to foot. I fidgeted and slowly grasped the knob. It was cold and metallic. Nothing out of the ordinary here. I turned it ever so carefully, as if it could break off in my hand and I'd never be able to get to Gwen again. I heard the click and I pushed the door open, just a crack, and peeked inside. It looked calm, still. I pushed the door open wider to see the beds made, everything picked up, and no Gwen. I stepped in searching for anything. Just as I turned to check out the rest of the house _something_ caught my eye.

A _note_ was tapped to a chair. I chewed on my lip and went back to get it. I ripped it off and unfolded the frail piece of paper.

It was Gwen's handwriting, and what it explained made my jaw drop...

**Ooh! And no! This isn't the chapter of the day. There will be another later. This is just a tid-bit. Please review, it makes me update faster**


	11. Freak out

**Freak-out**

Kale's P.O.V.

The next thing I knew an earsplitting sound had erupted from my throat and traveled out through the house. I heard doors fly open and feet pounding up stairs. Within seconds everyone was in the room, asking me why I was screaming.

"GWEN! NOTE! FLAIR!" Is all I could stutter. Max jerked it from my grasp and began to read. Her eyes followed each word carefully. When she had finished she looked around the room and bit her lip. She looked sick.

"Gazzy, go check outside and see if you can find Flair and Gwen. Angle, sweetie, check the rest of the house," Max said in a shaky voice. My hands trembled and I tried to stuff them in my pockets. It was a failed attempt.

"What is it?! What does it say?! Where is Gwe…" Nudge babbled. Iggy slapped a hand over her mouth and turned back to Max.

"Someone freaking read it out loud!" Iggy ordered.

You could practically stir the tension in the room with a spoon.

"I-I can't!" Max exclaimed as she passed it to Fang, who was completely calm. He scanned over it and his eyes bulged. It was passed back to me. I couldn't help staring at it.

_Dear Flock, Migration, and Humans,_

_ As you've probably noticed by now, we aren't here. Flair and I have decided to do the courageous thing and save the others. We're going to go look for Alex. Flair feels strongly of her sister and wishes to get her back. As I've once said, _

_'Spread your wings for those who cannot. Flap like the footfalls of the escaped running to freedom. And soar for those behind bars, to those locked up. A feather for a tear, a scar for a friend, and a death for a life. Without sacrifice there is nothing, and without courage and adventures there is no sacrifice…'_

_Out doing business, _

_ Gwen_

_ & Flair _

I felt sick. How?! When?! What?!

Finally I could choke out the letter and the others turned pale.

"No! We told her! We warned her!" Ebony was stunned, speechless.

"We have to go save her! We have to MOVE!" Dylan cried as he unfolded his wings.

"No! There's no way! We can't get to her in time! She's gone! Dylan, we can't loose more," Max tried.

"It's Flair! If it were Angel you would do the same. I have to protect my people," Dylan explained as he refused.

"DYLAN! You know they'll kill you! They want her that bad, they'd kill all of us just to get one single feather from her!" Max grabbed his arm.

He gritted his teeth.

"Let. Go!" He tried to stay calm. She backed up and dropped her hands to her side.

"You're not going!" Storm crossed his arms and stood in front of Dylan.

"Move Storm," Dylan commanded.

"No!" And with that water was pulled from the vase and splashed into Dylan's face repeatedly.

"Storm!" Ebony screamed as she tried to separate the boys. Dylan tried to wipe water from his eyes, but it just kept coming. It even was flushed up his nose. There was a lot of _trying_, but no real _actions_.

"Can someone please explain to me why Flair is important! She's just like the rest of us, right?" I yelled over the roar of explosions, word explosions.

"No," Fang said simply. I needed more than _one_ word! Everyone settled and stared intently at me.

"Uh, would you explain?" I asked.

"Err…where to start? Hmm…maybe if you knew what Flair was…," Max mumbled.

"Oh my gosh! Max I can explain! Zomg! Please!?" Nudge squealed. The others were quiet, so Nudge took that as a _yes_.

"Ok, so Flair is literally formed, or combined with FIRE! 2%! Anyway, they had never successfully combined an experiment with fire, considering how we're mostly made of water anyway. No offense Storm, but Flair was their most successful elemental subject. She was 'awesome'. When they stole her and her sister from their bedroom they were only four. They took them because their mother had already donated a child two years before Flair and her sister came along. That child died, so the School needed more. Alex didn't come out as well as they had wished. They found that Alex's DNA wouldn't match that of her sisters. We can all handle different DNA. Like, I'm an avian-only. Flair could be a pyro/avian. Her sister could be a feline/avian. It's said that Alex has a cat tail, that sounds so cool! So…when we saved Flair we didn't know about Alex. Flair wanted to go get her, but Max knew something. The School wanted Flair back desperately. So bad that they had almost caught us once. Luckily we ran and got away, but it was close. They had brought guns, the Erasers were set on getting Flair. Flair, however, didn't know this, so when she asked Max turned her down. Flair has held a grudge ever since. Now, they are still searching. That's why we came into hiding, why only Jim, Susan, Dr. M, and Ella. Are the only humans who know our location. You see, Kale, anyone keeping Flair from the School gets lead in their brains. Anyone who interferes with their _game_ is killed," Nudge said a mouthful, but at least now I kinda understand.

"And Gwen is with her?!" I screeched.

"And Flair is gone! And I can't save her!" Max cried.

"And it just proves I'm a horrible leader!" Dylan growled.

"I just want her back," Ebony wailed.

"They could do anything to her," Storm added as he cringed.

"What now?" Iggy questioned.

"Everyone just calm down!" Dr. M ordered.

"How am I supposed to be calm?!" Max, Dylan, and I snapped at the same time.

"G-Gwen can, can protect her, right?" Angel asked. Apparently they weren't anywhere else in the house.

No one answered and a tear fell from the girl's big blue eyes.

"Y-You mean we've lost Flair? And Gwen?" Gazzy whispered. Max began to cry. Hormones?

"Yah, no. I won't just sit here knowing…" I began. Nudge grabbed my wing and yanked me back.

"No, you can't go after her! They're already caught! Did you not understand the stress on how wanted Flair is?" Nudge scolded.

"She's the only person I have left. My only family is locked in a cage, or her body cast aside in a ditch. I must find her, either way," I said stubbornly.

Max started cussing as she slammed her fists into everything around. Eventually, after hours of freaking out we all sat silently staring at the ground.

"All this time that I've spent keeping her safe was for nothing. She's really gone. They have her and we will never be able to get her back. The scientists want Flair, that's it. It's black and white-they want her to study, dissect. Then they'll keep her alive as long as they can until she kills over. Next, they'll be coming after my baby. They'll want it. Does this life ever smooth out? Is there no _peace_?" Max said hatefully.

"Nope," Dylan sneered. Max acted like she wanted to haul off on him. She wanted to bang his head into the wall, but instead she burst out in tears and sprinted for her room, Fang following in pursuit. I couldn't move. My heart ached. Knowing that Gwen was out there and there was absolutely nothing I could do hurt me.

I never told Gwen the way I felt. I never felt her soft pink lips on mine. Gwen didn't know she was _loved_.

**Review! Thanks for Reading! what will happen to Flair? Will the School catch them?**


	12. Fallen

**Fallen**

Flair's P.O.V.

"Help!" I cried with all my strength.

A swish and a swoop rang in my ears as Gwen caught my arm and slowly cushioned me to the ground.

"Why didn't you fly?" She panted.

"Uh, I couldn't! My wings! They won't move!" I cried. She straightened and grabbed my tucked in wing. With a great effort she pulled it out. Her finger traced over the top arc and she suddenly came to a stop.

"What is it?!" I screamed.

"There's a little red flashing light," she whispered hoarsely.

"What?!" I screeched.

"I-I think you have a chip," she stuttered.

There was no time to think, for the sound of blades cutting through the air echoed.

_Helicopter_!

Gwen grabbed me and slung me to the ground. She stood above me, ready to attack. There was no where to hide! We were on flat ground! That's when I saw a ditch with long grass shielding it.

"Come on!" I called. I crawled over to it and laid low. Gwen followed in haste. Her dark brown hair was whipped with the wind. Her long black wings folded in neatly as she fell backwards. We were safe for the time.

The giant machine came to a rough landing and our worst enemy piled out. Erasers swarmed. They wielded guns and barred fangs. Gwen held her arm in front of her eyes as the dust was blown around wildly.

"They have to be here! The chip said she landed precisely here! Her wings can't function! We've set off the nerve system! She has to be here!" One barked.

"I don't see a body, or a feather! We've lost the Ultimate!" Another yelled over the roar of the engine. The Erasers did a sweep of the area, never once getting close to us. As the chopper left the ground we let out a sigh of relief. We were safe.

"I have a chip, Gwen!" I breathed once things had settled.

"I know," her voice shook. That's when I noticed how bad, and scary this was. They were tracking me, not her, but she could be caught and killed by this.

"It's on the very top layer of muscle," she began. I pulled my wing around so I could see. Then a little red light flashed through my flesh and feathers. Then I remembered it. I had seen it. The scene flashed before my eyes.

_I was young and afraid. The Flock was in a hotel, and Ebony, Storm, and I were with them. I was laying in the corner, covered with a sheet I had stole from the bed. Everyone else was asleep. I, however, was shivering, not from the cold, but from fear. I covered myself with me wings. It was pitch black dark in the room, so when I saw a little red light flash I jumped. The eery thing was like a warning signal, and it was coming from my wing. In the next second the door to our room was busted open and Erasers poured in. I screamed bloody murder and dove behind a bed. The Flock woke up from deep slumber and got into fighting stances._

_"Run!" Max had ordered. The Erasers shot around, luckily not hitting anyone. Dylan pushed me out of the window and Storm held tight to Ebony._

_"We want the Ultimate, Maximum. Give her to us!" They had chanted._

_"You can have her…" Max cried, "When I'm laying six feet down!"_

_Then we had all somehow escaped and flown fast to Dr. M's. I heard Max tell Dylan something in a whisper, but I couldn't remember what._

"I wonder what they meant by '_the_ _Ultimate_'?" Gwen broke me from the nightmare.

"I don't know? Maybe it's like a _code_ or something?" I pondered.

"Well," Gwen gave a shaky smile, "we'll just have to find that out later. Right now we're gonna get some rest."

"Ok, do you think…that my wings will…_work_ again?" I asked.

She didn't answer. I only laid down in the grass and began to sob. My wings! Why? Why does it have to happen to me?! How could I save Alex if my wings wouldn't even flap?!

I heard a sniffle from close behind me. Gwen too was crying.

I laid in a tight ball, cradling myself. I ran my fingers down the soft feathers that rippled through the tough primary ones.

_Could I ever fly again?_

Don't call me emo, that's not what this is. I had heard Max's story about her chip. Only she tried to use a seashell, I had a knife, and I wouldn't wuss out.

I slowly snuck away from Gwen and the '_camp_'. I found a space away from everything and pulled the pocket knife from my boot. It was small and beaten, but sharp as could be. I pulled my wing in front of me and laid the cold blade against the place where the red blinking light shone. I shut my eyes closed tight and bit down on my lip.

_This was for Alex…_

**Ooh! Will she do it? Or will Gwen save her in time? Please review! **


	13. The Plan Unfolds

**The Plan Unfolds**

**Back to Gwen!**

I woke up the next morning and stretched all _six_ of my limbs. Wow, that sounds weird. I looked around for Flair, who was missing! I jumped to my feet and started to panic. I spun around in all directions, praying that I would spot her. Hoping they hadn't taken her.

"Gwen," her voice was faint. It was coming from…above? I glanced up and there she was, hovering there.

"You're wings! They work!" I cheered. She nodded vigorously.

Then she landed. I tried to check and see if the chip had stopped glowing red, but she jerked away.

"Flair?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow. Then I saw red, crimson red. Blood was stained to the top of her wing.

"FLAIR!" This time it was an 'What the hel-heck?!'

She looked embarrassed, sick, pale. What was wrong?! I lunged forward and grabbed her in a head lock as pulled her wing to where I could see.

She had _cut_ the chip out! Oh my gosh!

"What the…? Flair?!" I cried. She got loose from my grip and I shot he a disgusted look as I stepped back.

"I-I had to! They could've caught you, and I would've never got Alex!" She wailed.

"How? How could you do that to yourself?" I almost gagged. It wasn't that bad. It was only an inch of flesh cut out, but the fact that she did it herself…?

"I had to! Gosh, can't you just see that I needed to! I did it to keep the others safe! I could've got us caught!" She tried again.

I began to rummage through the bags and I finally found some bandages an passed them to her.

"Put these on before you get infected," I ordered. I felt sick to my stomach.

"Gwen, I'm sorry, but I _had_ to…" I swear if I heard that again I'd…

"Ok! Shut up! Just…just fly!" I growled. I admit, that was harsh, but what would Dylan or Max say when we got home? That could've killed her!

"Sorry Gwen," she whispered. I threw my bag over my shoulder and took off. I was ready to bust some heads together! I was ready to kill someone!

"Gwen! Wait up!" Flair called. I noticed that I was way up high and that I was staring to zoom super fast. I put the brakes on and waited for Flair to catch up.

"How far?" She asked.

"Judging by how fast that chopper got here, I'd say no more than an hour. If we follow this road, which Jim and Susan used to get me and Kale out, we should be there in no time!" I gave a slight smile.

-_three hours later_-

Ok, I was wrong. Maybe it was _three_ hours, so what? Then I saw the dreaded building and I froze.

"Land," I mumbled. Flair adjusted her bag and dropped. I made sure that I could catch her, just incase. We landed safely about three miles away. It was hot and dry and my heart was pounding out of my chest. I handed her the important stuff from my bag. She loaded it into hers.

"Remember, you hide. Then in about five hours come and bust in, ok?" I reminded. She nodded.

"Alright, here goes nothing," I mumbled. She gave me a reassuring grin. I was trembling, but I needed to remain strong, so Flair wouldn't get the jitters too.

"See you in five hours," I whispered. I was dreading this. She nodded again. I turned and took a deep breath. I felt like I needed to puke up my itty bitty breakfast.

"I believe in you!" Flair cheered. That's what I _needed_. I straightened myself and stuck my nose up high. I was confident. My wings spread out behind me and they flapped with my every heart beat.

There it was. The House of Despair was in range and I landed neatly in front. Alarms blared. I had to make this look real, so I shed my pack and began to battle oncoming Erasers. Then they '_caught_' me and drug me inside behind them. I was tossed in a cage. This wasn't _so_ bad…

"Oh, it's back," Bridget.

I snarled and curled into a ball.

"Lets have some fun, who says we should have a fun day?" She smiled evilly. The Erasers howled with laughter.

I knew what she meant by '_fun day_'. They were going to kill me in cold blood. They were going to _slaughter_ me.

I gulped.

Come on Flair! You got this!

**The next chapter will be ****_interesting_****! REVIEW! And for those of you who have sent in OC's they will be here shortly, in three chapters at the most! Maybe 2, so REVIEW and it will come faster. **


	14. All Dressed Up Just To Die Barefoot

**All Dressed Up Just To Die Barefoot**

I was sitting there, twiddling my thumbs. I shifted uncomfortably in this dress. Ya, you heard me. They decided to 'dress me up' since this would be a 'watched event'. I was in a white room, in a white dress, standing on recently waxed white tile, staring at the white door-ok so you get the fact that white is important. Anyway, I could hear voices blaring. I was hoping those hours would fly by faster.

"Alright, pull her out! Lets go!" Bridget ordered. The door creaked open and pit pats filled the room as Erasers marched in. I was barefoot and scared. It was odd how my black wings stood out against the pureness of everything else.

"Move!" Dwyer barked.

"Sure," I shrugged as I slowly made my way to the door, "are we going to eat crumpets and drink a spot of tea?"

She slapped me screaming that I was "A disrespectful maggot!"

_Ok? Whatever…_

"Walk faster! I swear I will beat you until your pretty little wings have not a feather left!" She threatened.

_'And I'll smack you bald headed! Shut up!' _I growled in my mind. Finally we came to a large arena filled with Erasers and Whitecoats. A big burly beast grabbed each of my arms and hauled me to a podium. I was cuffed to it. Like I couldn't just…

"Where is the Ultimate?!" A man asked.

"Ultimate? What the heck is that?" I questioned.

"You very well know! Tell us where she is!" He demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I screamed. The man stepped closer, out of the mob of snarling Erasers and demented scientists. I recognized his face, his evil smile, and even the scar I had placed there so many years ago.

"Oh, _Jeb_? Have you lost something?" I sneered. He gritted his teeth.

"We know you know where she is! We know you know where the Ultimate and the Maximum lay hidden! Speak, child, or I will not hesitate to kill you!"

I snorted. "That doesn't scare me!"

"It should," Jeb snarled as he moved closer. Anger flashed in his eyes.

"I don't understand!" I tried again.

"Let me put it in simple terms…The _Maximum_ is a being who holds the most power in the mind and in strength, her name is _Maximum_ Ride, duh it's in her name. The _Ultimate_ is a creature combined with fire. You all call her _Flair_! The _Supreme_ is a couple of boys bending water, _Storm_ is one of them. The _Chief_ controls earth. The _Epic_ will be a child born from the _Maximum_! Do you get it now?!" Man this was confusing.

"Flair is hours away from here! And you're daughter is no where in range!" I spat. He frowned and slapped me.

"Don't touch me!" I cried as I jerked from the podium. It came with me, hitting Jeb.

"Catch her!" Jeb commanded as he searched for a tissue. I probably broke his nose. _Serves him right! _All these words were confusing and all this talk made my head spin. Erasers eventually had me captured. I was forced back to the center of this jacked up place.

"Anything more?" Bridget asked a boiling mad Jeb.

"Kill it!" He commanded. The words bounced around inside of my mind. _Kill me? Oh, yah._

"Any last words, pleas, or confessions?" Dwyer asked. I thought for a minuet and clutched the podium.

"Yes," my lip quivered, "YOU **FAILED**! You morons **lost**!"

Then an Eraser took aim and put his finger on the trigger. I closed my eyes and my life flashed beneath my eyelids.

Was this my last breath? Were those my last words?

**Ooh! Review and I'll update! I'm proud to say that this is my most successful story! It beat BWW (27 reviews) by one! Lets make that number grow! Next chapter is called 'The Flames Reign'. Will Flair save Alex, or Gwen for that matter? Who will live…and who will be buried six feet down…?**


	15. The Flames Reign pt 1

******Warning: PREPARE TO BE UTTERLY SHOCKED! Do not throw your computer! Do not cuss! The more you review the faster I'll update!**

**The Flames Reign PT 1**

Flair's P.O.V.

I landed on the roof of this retched place. Something wasn't right, and it wasn't because a million butterflies were dancing in my gut, no, this was different. Like a warning of some kind? I sat there just thinking. Then the sound of a gun firing came from inside. My stomach churned. I gave in to my curiosity and lit a ball of fire in my hands. I placed my palms against the surface of the roof and it gave way. A giant hole was burned through. I dove in and peered around to see who was shot. There was a girl in a white dress laying on the cold hard ground. The Erasers in the room looked up to see me, hovering there, my wings beating at my side.

"The Ultimate!" A man cried as he pointed. Stupid Whitecoats!

I formed another sphere of fire and let it go. The place went up in flames, fast. This was some sort of arena? I landed roughly near the body of the person on the ground. As I neared I could see black wings and dark chocolate brown hair.

Gwen?!

"Gwen?!" I called. She twitched. My heart stopped. She couldn't be dead! I needed her alive! No! Oh please no! Blood was everywhere. Her white dress was stained crimson. If she was dead it would be all my fault! Why hadn't I listened to that feeling?! Why didn't I obey Max?! Oh…please no… Tears poured from my eyes. I had lost my friend, my sister-or so it felt. She was gone! No! I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't stop myself from killing everything in sight. My anger flared.

Gwen…

**OMG? PM me, review, favorite, follow, whatever you have to do! Gwen is dead? Hurry up and review to get the next section! Hurry! Press that little button!**


	16. The Flames Reign Pt 2

**The Flames Reign Pt 2**

Gwen's P.O.V.

Ok, so when they freaking shot me I fell and hit my head, apparently. Now I am laying on the floor bleeding to death while Flair sets this place up in flames. I groaned and rolled onto my back. Man this was painful! Whoever taught that Eraser to shoot was a sorry teacher, or that beast had only one eye, 'cause it hit my shoulder, not my heart. I pushed myself to my knees and coughed. Flair glanced down.

"GWEN!" She cried as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She was sobbing and I was crying and we were just sad altogether.

"Lets go!" I barked hoarsely.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"Fine! Move!" I ordered. She clutched to my arm as I tried hard to get up. I felt as if I might fall flat on my face. The House of Despair was in chaos! Erasers and Whitecoats ran around blindly searching for an escape, that's where this building has flaws. There were no _easy_ _exits_, that's how they kept us _in_.

"Come on!" Flair called. She was only three feet ahead, but her voice sounded distant. I began to move faster, to run. This was so hard! My breaths came short and choppy and I felt as if I might just kill over, it seemed pretty logical.

"Look! The Info station!" Flair pointed to a room filled with computers. I wanted to scream _'Go ahead, I'm just gonna stay here and puke my guts up!'_ But it just wouldn't leave my lips so I followed. She came to a computer and clicked on a bunch of stuff.

"Lets face it, I'm not as good as Nudge! This stupid thing!" Flair screeched as she kicked a filing cabinet. It tipped over and files spilled out. One slid to me and I peered down at it, reading the label.

_Alexis Smith _

If I could've yelled I would've told Flair, but there was no use, it just wouldn't come out audible. I grabbed the file in one hand and smacked Flair with my wing. She turned to stare. I held it up. Her grim frown disappeared as a jubilant cheer erupted from her mouth. I gave a shaky smile and started for the door.

**Review**! :) **ok, and those of you who have sent in OC's they'll be out in 2 chapters! I know! Im getting the jitters too! **


	17. The Flames Reign Pt 3

**The Flames Riegn Pt 3**

Flair's P.O.V.

That was incredibly luckily. Somehow Alex's file had came to Gwen. The hall was on fire, I guess thy was my fault, huh? We had to get out some other way. This was just difficult!

"Maybe if I could just burn a hole through…" I started.

"Please don't burn anything! Just stop, ok?" Gwen interrupted. Well! Fine then!

"Then how, exactly, do you expect us to get out?" I rolled my eyes.

"Uh…? Maybe ummm… ok I got nothing," she stuttered.

"Thats what I thought!" I said cockily. She sighed and crossed her fingers as I burned through the wall.

"Come on! This place is gonna give way and I don't want to be buried alive!" I hurried. Gwen's wings unfolded as she ran through the giant gaping hole. I followed close behind, but on the spur of the moment turned and shot all the fire I could. I was thrown back, but my wings swiped out in one to catch me and bring me up to the clouds.

_The School was burning._

_The House of Despair was finished._

**Yay! RREVIEW! **

******THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN THE OC'S********


	18. A bride and a pyro at the doorstep

**Bride on the doorstep, a sister at the door**

Flair's P.O.V.

"Which direction?" I asked. We had been going for a while.

"Uh? I don't know anymore! I mean, I've had this thing turned upside down and side ways! I don't even know if we are heading north or south!" Gwen blabbered.

"Hand me the map," I sighed. We had stolen it from a gas station.

"Sure, but I really don't think…" she said as she handed it over. My fingers grazed across it. She let it go and it slipped from my fingertips. We watched it fly away. I shot her a hateful look. She blushed.

"Uh…I guess we'll just have to follow that feeling now, huh?" She wiped her hands on her dress and ducked her head.

"Yah…" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, we have a picture of the house…" she said optimistically.

"Hand it over…**VERY** carefully," I stuck out my hand. Slowly, but surely, she passed it to me. This time I actually got it. I shot here a look that said 'Thanks, moron'. She shrugged and crossed her arms.

I looked down at the picture. I apparently was holding it sideways, like Gwen. It was in the shape of an _E_. As I turned it the right side up I noticed that it was tuned on its side. I recognized this. It was the cherished home of Maximum Ride. I was so surprised that I sucked in a breath, preparing myself to go into a stage of yelling, but I chocked on the freaking air. I began to choke and gag. I finally coughed and Gwen chuckled.

"Are you done?" She laughed.

"Y-Yah! I know where this is! It's Max's old house!" I exclaimed.

"How?" she questioned.

"It was said to be burned down, but I guess those Erasers lied to them, eh?" I explained.

"Ok, that's great. Another question answered, but how the heck does that tell us how to get there?" She said.

"Well, like you said…follow that feelin'!" I chuckled as I drifted to the side.

"Are you sure we're goin' the right way?" She yelled over the wind.

"Nope!" I hollered back.

"Great," she snarled in disgust. I noticed that one of her hands was laid over her shoulder.

"Hows the bullet wound?" I asked seriously. She looked up at me, dark circles ringed around her eyes.

"It's fine, ok?! Just keep flying!" She snapped. Cranky? I noticed that she was bleeding…a lot, but she'd be fine…for now at least.

We flew for a while in silence before she began digging through the file again.

"Oh! Here's a pic of you're sis!" Gwen smiled. I glanced over at it. There she was. Alex's light red hair fell to her shoulders. Her crystal blue eyes resembled mine, along with her facial features. A thin reddish brown tail wrapped around her. She looked scared, afraid of the people taking the picture. Her bones stuck out. She was starved. I had made sure no one was there when I burned the place down, now I see why she wasn't at the School. I snatched the file from Gwen and started to read.

Jeb had started a new study. He was trying to see what made Max such a great survivor. He had taken a group if six avian hybrids up to the very same house he raised the Flock. There he taught them how to fly, fight, and the basics. He ditched them and began to watch the story unfold. He _studied_ how they were _changing_, adapting. The last entry to this experiment was _three_ _days_ ago.

It was a _remake_ of Maximum Ride. Yep, that basically sums it up.

"Well…" I said to myself, "This is just…great."

"I was a swingin' and a swayin' in the current! My wings were a flappin' in the breeze! You're words drifted back, and I went smack as they flew past me! Oh-oh-oh like you know! Nothin' was makin' sense! That's when you walked in! And I was like 'Hey-oh! Look at him go!' I watched yah turn and sit next to dat pretty girl who's makeup was three inches thick! And you asked for her to stand up and dance to that new pop song! And you were a swingin' and a swayin' and my mouth began a flappin' and you weren't lettin' up and it made me want to bre-eak free!" Gwen sang to herself. She was snapping and her head was bobbing.

"Are you done?" I laughed. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Now I am," she grumbled.

A few hours later I was almost certain we were close. I saw a little dirt road winding up the side of a mountain.

"Lets follow it!" I screamed to Gwen. She gave me a thumbs up. We were tilting side to side, trying to keep up with the curves. As we came to the top I saw a house. And guess the shape.

_E_!

"That's it! Yes!" I cheered.

"Oh my gosh! That is it!" I yelled. Gwen peered down.

"Hmm?" She nodded as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Lets land!" I tucked in my wings.

"Lets do this thing!" Gwen was now excited.

We landed only yards from the house. It felt strange, I've waited my whole for this. My sister was coming home. Gwen smoothed her dress.

"You looked like you just got hitched," I put a hand on my hip.

"Ha!" she rolled her eyes.

"Ready?" I questioned.

"Yup," she nodded. We marched to the porch. I peeked in. Some rock song was blaring and two boys were rocking out. Another girl was seated on the couch. She rolled her eyes at the two.

I took a deep breath and knocked. There was no answer, they were still dancing. I growled and kicked the door, hard. The music cut off and the three dove to hide behind the couch. Alex trotted down the stairs. She grabbed a gun and tossed it to a boy. She used stealth as she climbed across obstacles and opened the door…ever so slowly.

"Alex! It's me! It's Flair!" I exclaimed. She peeked from behind the door.

"Oh my gosh! _Flair_?!" She cried.

**ok, so now the OC's have been mentioned. In the next chapter you will actually ****_meet_**** them. Want to read it? Review!**


	19. I'll Say Hi Later

**I'll Say Hi Later**

Gwen's P.O.V.

Alex and Flair were hugging and squealing. I was standing there awkwardly. That's when a boy with white hair came forward holding a gun. I admit, it scared me. I reached out and grabbed the barrel of the rifle and jerked it from the boy's hands. I then tucked it under my arm and aimed it at him.

"Alex! The bride lady has a gun pointed at us!" He yelled. Flair and Alex turned to me.

"Uh, yah, I was…err, I was-he had it pointed at me first!" I blabbered.

"Gwen, this Alex. Alex, meet Gwen," Flair pointed at me. I stuck out my hand to be shook.

"And I'm Ice!" The rude boy jumped in front and shook my hand himself.

"That's nice," I said with fake enthusiasm.

"What's! Goin'! On?" A little boy said with each jump.

"It's just a couple of chicks, Jes!" Ice hollered back. The child had clawed his way to the door, pushing past Ice.

"Pretty girls! Hello Ms. Lady," the kid smiled. He was missing his front tooth.

"Ah, thanks for the compliment. My names Gwen, please call me ONLY Gwen, ok?" I ruffled his hair.

"I'm Jester. Jes for short," he bowed.

"And I'm Ryan Vazquez, the leader of this group of dysfunctional mutants," a boy of Hispanic origin stepped forward. He flashed me a pearly white grin. His brown hair laid to his ears and sea blue eyes glimmered in the faint porch light. He was hot.

"I'm Flair! I'm not the leader, sadly," Flair nodded.

"I want to introduce myself!" Another boy called from behind the mob of new friends. They moved to the side to let him come forward.

"The names Jace, J Winters," he looked us up and down. He jerked his head to the side, flipping his shaggy brown hair out of his chocolate brown eyes. His skin was tanned, like Ryan's. He had Italian facial features, including a rather big nose.

"You morons forgot someone," a younger girl grumbled. She was around eleven.

"Yes, this is Melee Crenshaw," Alex chuckled. The girl had elfish features. Her skin was pale. Short black hair and platinum grey eyes stood out.

That was all six of them.

"Listen, we need to get you all out. The Erasers will be coming for you. They know where you are!" I hurried.

"No, Jeb brought us here. Batchelder said we were safe before he left. He said that as long as we stayed here they couldn't find us," Alex shook her head.

"Yah, well, you're just another experiment," I said hatefully as I threw the file at her. She frowned. Ryan snatched it from her and began to flip through. Ice glanced at it.

"This is crazy! We can't believe them! We just met them for goodness sakes!" Ice growled.

"We just came from the School. I set it on fire, but there are other places, other Schools. They'll come looking. If you all won't come, then Alex will. Who wants to live?" Flair put it bluntly.

"Ryan?" Ice turned to the leader.

"Better safe than sorry," Ryan nodded.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ice groaned.

"Everyone pack you're necessities, you have fifteen minuets!" Ryan ordered. The children ran for their rooms. I relaxed a bit.

"Uh, Gwen, lets bandage that," Ryan grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. I felt like I couldn't breath!

"S-Sure," I whispered. He lead me inside.

"What happened?" he questioned as he pulled the bullet from my shoulder.

"Got shot," I shrugged, which hurt.

"Well, obviously," he chuckled as he threw the stupid piece of lead away.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"Here," he handed me a rag, "I have to go pack."

I sat there, my feet dangling off the counter. I felt stupid. I'm sitting in this hot guys living room in a dress stained from where I've been shot. I just waltzed in here and told these people to follow and they did.

"Hey, miss?" little Jes stood in front of me.

"Gwen!" I groaned.

"Gwen, right. Why are you so sad?" He asked.

"I'm not," I gave a fake smile.

"Sure," he nodded.

"Are you ready?" I asked. He climbed up onto the counter beside of me. Let me explain something very interesting to you. Jester here has purple eyes, blue hair, and neon green wings. Yes, he's a walking talking rainbow.

"I loooooove colors," he babbled, "and crayons!"

"I can tell," I grinned.

"Jes! Stop being a pest!" Ryan came back in, a backpack filled.

"Sorry!" The boy chirped as he climbed down.

"Are you morons ready?" Melee came in. Her pink duffle bag was stuffed.

"I am! But I cant find my shoes," Alex came out.

"I really don't see why we have to leave our house," Ice grumbled as he zipped his pack closed.

"Wait! Where are we going?" Jace asked.

"To meet the Flock, you're gonna live in their home," Flair explained.

"Who's 'The Flock'?" Ryan raised an eyebrow. Flair's jaw dropped.

"Only the most famous avians in the world!" She almost yelled.

"Ok, am I the only one who hears that?" Alex asked. We all got quiet to listen.

"Helicopters, that's helicopters!" Ryan screamed.

"Alright! Lets move!" I ordered.

"No! They have us surrounded. Crenshaw, grab Jes and get to the side door. Jace and Ice go ahead and kill all you can! Lets move!" Ryan barked orders. We all fled for the exits, but there was no time. They had caught us off guard. A freaking missile was fired through a window. It exploded and debris was thrown in all directions. I reached for something, anything.

I snagged onto Jes's shirt and pulled him close. He coughed and sneezed.

"Shoot!" That was defiantly Ice.

"Help!" Someone cried. I began to move. Somehow I had ended up on the floor.

"Stay close," I ordered Jes in a hoarse voice.

"Help!" It came again.

"Crenshaw?! Crenshaw!" Someone screamed in the background. I saw a hand reaching out from under a flipped sofa. I knew I had to get to my feet.

"Stay down!" I told Jes as I propped myself up on the table. I went over to the couch and tried to lift it. There was no use, there was too much on top of it.

"Stay with me! I'm gonna pull you out!" I yelled at the being crushed underneath. No answer.

"One…two…three!" I screamed as I grabbed the arm an pulled. Alex slid out from underneath. She looked as if she went into a state of shock. Her pink long sleeve t-shirt was ripped to shreds.

"Alex!" I shook her. No response. Her eyes stared forward, blankly. I slapped a hand across her face. She eventually came through. I shoved Jes close to her. That child would never be unseen, he's like one of those yield signs. If I kept him close to Alex I could find them.

"Wow! It smells like charcoal!" Someone exclaimed. I climbed over the fridge and wedged in a corner was Jace.

"Dude! Give me your hand!" I smiled. His face was grimy from where ash covered it. He reached out. I finally got him back to Alex and Jes. There would be no movement. The kitchen and some other room was all that we could get to. This place was torn to shreds. I didn't even know if the others were still alive.

"Ryan! Flair!" I called.

"Gwen?!" It was Flair. I thanked whomever was out there listening.

"Do you have Jes, Alex, or Jace?!" Ryan added.

"All!" I answered.

"We can't get to you!" Flair sounded defeated.

"Just get out! We'll meet up at home!" I hurried. Then all of the sudden there was a bloody scream.

"Erasers!" I heard Melee cry. My heart stopped. I grabbed Jes, the 7 year old was shaking, and literally carried him to the other room. Jace and Alex followed. I slammed the door, that was amazingly still attached, closed. I was trying to catch my breath when I heard Erasers rummage through the rubble outside. I pressed my back against the door and lipped to the others to find a way out. The door knob turned. No! Jes bit his lip.

"Hey! They're in here!" I heard a beast yell. They had found us. There were no windows, no escape doors.

"Go! Find a way out!" I screamed. The door was busted open, throwing me to the cold hard ground. The sick realization that they had caught us sunk in. _We were trapped. We were going back to the cages…_

**please review! **

**i have a couple of ?'s**

**1) who's your favorite character & why?**

**2) what's your favorite chapter & why?**

**3) what do you wish to be added into this story?**

**Thanks to **

**GagaBear18: Melee Crenshaw & Jace Winters**

** .Souls: Ryan Vazquez **

**my flock/ dvds12: Alex,Flair,& Ice**

**Wingzforever: Jester (Jes)**


	20. What's Going On At Home?

**What's going on at home?**

Kale's P.O.V.

I looked out the window, hoping to see her coming. I decided to get up and make a sandwich or something. I strolled into the kitchen to see Fang standing there getting out some pickles. I spun on my heel and started in the other direction.

"I don't bite…anymore," he had noticed that I was in the room. I froze and cussed silently in my head.

"What are you doing? Getting a midnight snack?" He asked as he crammed his mouth full of chips. I turned.

"Now, I'm not much of a talker," he mumbled as he licked his fingers, "so you'll have to respond here."

"Shouldn't you hate me?" I raise an eyebrow. He stopped and glanced up at me. Then he crammed another chip in his mouth.

"No, I hate you're…_brother_," he hesitated on the last word.

"Because he can't help but like you're wife?" I asked as I crossed my arms.

"We're having a kid. Dylan doesn't need to be so…he just needs to get over it," Fang grumbled.

"You know, the real Dylan had a girlfriend," I gave a slight grin. He froze again, then continued munching.

"Well, that's just to bad," He shrugged.

"For you," I snorted.

"Maybe I do hate you? You're not so great, you know," he was starting to get irritating.

"Yes, I got it," I nodded. Then just to add to the awkwardness Dylan walked in.

"C'mon Kale, lets go," Dylan motioned to me.

"Yah, run away like you always do, Dylan. That's just so macho," Fang rolled his eyes and began to search for more food.

"I'd pound you're stupid face in if it wouldn't break Max's heart!" Dylan threatened.

"Sure," Fang chuckled. Dylan came forward. Next thing I knew punches were flying and they were trying to kill each other. I yelled something. The others came from various places in the house to see what the commotion was. Max made her way to the front. Of coarse, she couldn't do anything! They were gonna kill each other! I decided to try to separate them.

I grabbed the front of Fang's shirt and pulled him off Dylan. I latched onto Dylan's arm. Both of the boys towered over me. They were both stronger. I didn't know how I was keeping them apart. They were still throwing punches, though.

"You're a idiot! You've got everything a person could want, yet you still want to fight! You have Max, you have a freaking kid, and you mess with me still! How many times do I have to tell you?! Don't mess with my people!" Dylan growled.

"You're sick! Can't you do anything other than mope around and chase after Max like you're a lost puppy?!" Fang snarled.

"Boys!" Max yelled. No use, they were already screaming and whining like babies again.

If _Fang_ would just stop! He's so much like _Gwen_. Oh crap! Did I just think that? I heard Angel gasp. The stupid mind reading…she knew the _secret_! Ugh! Could this day get _any_ worse?!

"Stop! For once in your lives get it together! We have people missing and all you can do is quarrel over a stupid girl?!" I shouted. The room fell silent. I literally threw Fang to Max and drug Dylan up the steps. I shoved him into his own room and slammed the door behind him.

I think I have a new super power? _Strength_? I don't know?!

I sighed and flopped down on the bed. I was more worried about Angel knowing the _secret_. That stupid _secret_! Why was I the _only_ one who knew?! Ugh!

_Please come home Gwen! Please!_

Ok! Review! Remember the ?'s

1) who's your fav. Character & why

2) what's your fav. Chapter & why

3) what would you like to see added to this story


	21. Run, Flair, Run

**Run, Flair, Run!**

Flair's P.O.V.

Somehow the house hadn't fallen down on our side. It only overturned things and such. The damage started in the middle. I watched the missile hit a wall. It exploded, bringing half of the ceiling down with it. I was guessing that an attic was above Gwen's side because the roof just gave way. The Erasers swarmed. They had climbed into out side a while ago. We were stranded. Unsure of what to do, we stood and fought. Mistake number one. I decided to do the only thing I could, I shot fire at their faces. Melee clawed and beat the beast that held her. She flapped her grey wings. An occasional silver or black feather was scattered here or there. She got free and made a mad dash for the door. Ryan literally pushed her out the door, that was ripped from its hinges.

"Lets move!" Ryan cried. I wouldn't stop. The Erasers kept coming. I thought that if I could kill off enough then they could go safely.

"Go ahead!" I yelled over my shoulder. Ryan's white wings stretched behind him as he followed Crenshaw.

"Help! No! No!" It was Alex! She was screaming bloody murder. I turned. I had to find a way through.

"Come on! There's no use!" Ice shouted. I refused to listen. He grabbed me from behind and pulled me to the door. I looked up at him. His grey eyes had flecks of gold in them and they were fixed on the Erasers, you could see the hatred in them. His white wings were streaked with brown little lines and he beat them down. I started to fight him, but it was no use. He had pulled me from the house and we were up high above the scene. I brought my hands to my cheeks. I could see the mutants scattered everywhere.

"Flair," Ice laid a hand on my shoulder. I flapped in rhythm with my heart, which was going a _lot_ faster than usual.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped. He jerked away and gave me a disgusted frown.

"They're still in there," I breathed.

"What are we supposed to do?! We're way out numbered!" Ice panicked.

"Hope and pray," Melee whispered. I hated to admit it, but that's what we were gonna have to do. I bit my lip.

"H-How good can you're people fight?" I turned to Ryan. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Jes and Alex don't stand a chance. Winters is our only hope," Ryan hung his head. A wave of anticipation washed over me. I was worried and scared. Gwen can kick butt.

_But could Gwen and Jace fight off fifty oncoming armed Erasers? Nada._


	22. I Fight For Them, I Live For Him

**I Fight For Them, I Live For Him**

Gwen's P.O.V.

There comes a time when you have to decide. R_un, hide, or fight_? What would you do if you were backed into a corner? Hmm? I know many of you right now are snorting going, '_I would fight! I'm that cool!'_ but you could never really know until you were put in that situation. That's when your survivor mode kicks in. That's when you make the choice. And here's the thing, _you_ don't make it. No, your mind makes it. I don't care if you have muscles or if your glasses or three inches thick. You see, it's in the mind where you're _strong_. The decision was made. The survivor kicked in.

_I would fight._

I climbed to my feet and punched with all my might. I would not let them get Jes, or the others. The survivor in me was to protect others, not myself. I felt proud. Jace grabbed Alex and pushed her behind him. Jes screamed and ran for a corner. The beasts kept coming, and it seemed as if there was no stop. I tried to close the door once, it was a failed attempt.

"Help! Jace!" I called out. He wouldn't move. I eventually pushed a dresser in front of the opening. The Erasers only tipped it over. I was starting to think that there was no use. '_You're dead_!' repeated in my mind. I fought it down. '_You've lost!'_ was on replay. I felt defeated, I felt sick, I hurt, but I continued.

"No!" Alex wailed. They had grabbed Jace and threw him at the wall with a great force. Something surprised me, Jace broke through the wall. His skin shimmered as if it were made of diamonds. He lay in the drywall's broken pieces.

"Charge!" I yelled. Joy hopped around inside my head. It was exhilarating. For a brief second there was a chance, and I grabbed hold. Jes and Alex lifted Jace to his feet. Tears of happiness ran down my cheeks. Their wings beat down. They were free! The Eraser holding me growled and hissed. I let it all go for a moment_. They had gone free_!

Then I was brought back to reality as I was tossed to the ground, hitting my already hurt shoulder. The Eraser landed several swift kicks to my side. I spit and coughed. The air left my lungs. The wind had been knocked out of me. The beast lifted me up again and repeatedly slammed me into the wall. My wings unfolded and flapped as a last resort. My lip was busted and my side was ripped open. I glanced out the gaping hole in the wall. I could see seven figures hovering in the midnight moonlight. I glanced back to the Eraser. The thing's deep brown eyes stared into my soul.

"I'm done," I croaked. A grim smile slid up its lip as it watched the life drain from my eyes._ I had done my job. I had gotten the others out safely._ As I released all my thoughts, memories, and emotions something popped into my mind.

I saw Kale. _Kale_. Bars blocked his face, yet his eyes shone with hope. Then an image of the night when we had found our home drifted through my mind. His words echoed.

'_I think I might love you Gwen…_'

A spark of longing lit up my heart. A new reason to fight, to _live_. I brought my hands up and punched the mutant before me. It's grip loosened and I squirmed free. The Eraser somehow grabbed the bottom of my dress and I was jerked back. I threw myself forward, the dress ripping, and stroked my wings. The fabric was torn to my knees. I turned to fit through the escape hole. I was free. I rose higher, and higher still. I snuck one look back at the house. There stood my foe, open jawed and staring at the bottom of my dress. _Sucker_! I made my way up to the others. We were all safe. Flair was crying. She hugged me and wouldn't let go. That's when I gave into the exhaustion. I fell limp, but someone was there to catch me.

I couldn't remember all that well after that. Voices blared and my vision became bleary. All I remember is being held. I looked up to the face above me. _Ryan_.

"We gotcha, we gotcha Gwen," is what he said with a smile. My head rolled forward and my eyelids dropped. I didn't know if I'd ever wake…

**review!**


	23. Red Headed Wife

**Red Headed Wife**

Third Person P.O.V.

Bridget messed with the tiny ring on her finger. The diamond sparkled. It was thirteen years ago, but to her it felt like it had happened this morning. Bridget glanced up to see _him_ coming into the lab. A smile spread across her face. _He_ came in, obviously tired from the exhausting day. _He_ ran a finger through his hair.

"How did it go today, hun?" Bridget asked. _He_ looked to her and sighed.

"Another failed attempt," _he_ shrugged.

She glanced down to the two pictures in her hand. They were her _daughters_, yes, even though she had given them up _nine_ years ago to a foster family. When they were _four_ she decided to go back and get them. She had studied their DNA and one could hold the key.

"_She_ set the Erasers on fire, again. We invaded the house and they escaped. All of them," her husband groaned. Hot anger flared inside her. How could they be so powerful?! She hated that they had escaped the first time! Especially that little pyro!

She looked down at the pictures again. Her _daughters_.

"_Flair_ seems to be recognizing how powerful she is," Bridget stated. _He_ took one of the pictures and glanced at it.

"Yah," _he_ chuckled.

"_Alex_, now she's just a complete failure! She cant even fight!" Bridget crumbled the other picture and threw it to the ground. Her husband rubbed her shoulder. _He_ was so much older than her. She saw it in the wrinkles around _his_ eyes.

"And their _half sister_! Ugh! When exactly is she supposed to have that dumb baby?" Bridget continued to be harsh.

"Should be six months now, give or take," the man nodded. _He_ rubbed his chin.

"It's your fault she's so…rebellious! It was your idea to take them out of here in the first place! Experiment, you said. Well, did you expect for them to decide to go against you after you left? We should've kept them at the School in the first place! Then none of this would have happened!" She blabbered.

They were at another lab, hundreds of miles north of the School. This place was called the _Laboratory_. How original.

Bridget didn't go by her new last name, _Dwyer_ just seemed to fit better. She decided she was known better by it.

"If we get that baby, please tell me we're gonna end this madness," Bridget whispered.

_He_ was about to say something when an Eraser came to the door of the little lounge area. It knocked and _he_ answered the door.

"_**Jeb**_, sir, we've lost them. They flew out of range precisely eighteen minuets ago. The choppers couldn't spot them neither," the beast said. _**Jeb**_ sighed and turned to Bridget.

"We'll talk about this later," he mumbled as he buttoned his lab coat. Then he was gone and she was left bubbling with hatred.

She twisted around and found the pictures she had thrown down.

"Girls, one of these days you'll learn to obey _mother_," she shook her finger at them. Then she folded them neatly an placed them in her pocket.

Flair and Alex were hers, but Maximum was not. She was her step daughter. Bridget hated Max. There wasn't much Bridget loved, but Max was at the top of her list of things she wanted gone off the face of this retched planet. That was _her_ thoughts, of coarse.

_Bridget Batchelder _sat down in front of a computer. What could she do? Who was her next victim?

She clicked on a file that read '_Gwen Orksmith- Avian'_. She recognized that this was the mutant who had been sold a few months back. She bit her lip. This girl had come back and was busted out by Flair.

Bridget put the puzzle pieces together_. She was onto them._

**Review! Please! Do you get whats going on? **


	24. The Heroes Return

**The Heroes Return**

Flair's P.O.V.

"I don't think they're following us," Jace stated.

"Yah, we're in the clear," Alex grinned. We had stopped for a break. Ryan was literally sitting there, cradling Gwen.

"She's hurt bad," he whispered.

"Here," Ice said as he handed over a chunk of…ice.

"Oh, you can make ice?" I sounded so dumb.

"Yes, little pyro, I make ice!" He laughed. The guy was kinda cute, yet he was complete and total hind end.

"Thanks, Jace," Alex giggled. I glanced over at them. Jace had a hand slapped over Jes's mouth.

"Alright, lets move," I stood. The others groaned.

I looked back to Ryan.

"Are you sure you can carry her?" I asked.

"She's pretty, I have a good view of her, so yah," he smiled. Oh gosh…

Jes's green wings unfolded. Jace's dark brown wings copied. The feathers shimmered like they were crystals. It would make sense with that diamond skin of his.

Alex's wings were white with dark red tips. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and put her hands on her hips.

"Let rock and roll," I ordered as I took to the air.

We had flown for hours on end. Gwen was still out cold. Ryan liked holding her bridal style. He kept saying that she was bleeding, but there was nothing we could do. It was up to Dr. M to help her.

-twelve hours later-

I ached all over. Finally we came to a soft landing in the yard of the mansion. Everyone looked tired. We all looked like crap. I strolled/limped up to the door and knocked. It was dark and chilly. Ella answered the door. She looked drowsy and sleepy. The moment she laid eyes on me she screamed, waking the whole house. Kale was the first to arrive, somehow. He pushed past me, heading for the unconscious form of Gwen. Ryan was hesitant to pass her over. Kale stared down at Gwen, who was abnormally pale. Dr. M looked over the new arrivals.

"Oh my! Are you ok?!" She runs to Ryan, who had blood caked to his shirt.

"It's Gwen," he said simply pointing at her. Kale grew white as a sheet. He looked sick, maybe scared?

"H-Her heartbeat! It's…slow," is all he could choke out. The doctor sprinted over to them. She rolled Gwen to the side a bit. The dress was dark red. Dr. M traced her fingers over Gwen's side.

"She has a broken rib for sure. She's lost a lot of blood," she said in two seconds.

"Get her inside! Susan! We're gonna need to go into surgery!" She continued. They were gone. Gwen was laid on a bed on the first floor. Everyone was in the room. Now I could see how bad it was. I-I can't describe it. It's the worst I've ever seen. She was bruised all over. Cuts, scrapes, gashes, and scratches coated her.

"Guys! Go!" Susan ordered. They literally cut the dress off her and began to reposition her ribs.

The Flock met the new arrivals with open arms. They would join the Migration. Dylan said that they didn't need to challenge him on anything. They'd already fought Erasers. And Ryan had already carried Gwen all the way here.

An hour and a half later we were all on our toes. We were anxious and worried. Kale was pacing outside the door. You could see the worry in those usually happy eyes.

Eventually the door opened and Dr. M came out. My heart stopped. _She was crying…_

**Review and you'll get the next chapter**


	25. The Orksmith Secret

**The Orksmith Secret**

Kale's P.O.V.

"What is it?!" I asked harshly.

"S-She's lost to much blood," Dr. M said quietly.

"We can do a transplant. Like we did on Fang," Max tried.

"No, her body doesn't have enough original blood to adapt the new donation into its own kind. Her body will fight it, likes its a virus," She explained, "The only thing we could do is get blood from her mother, father, or sibling, but the chances of that are very slim. Considering how we don't know anything about her past. She practically has…no chance of survival, I-I'm sorry!"

The Doctor started bawling. I was stunned.

"There is _someone_…" Angel piped up. I glanced over at her. Everyone did.

"Fang is Gwen's _brother_…" Angel continued. Fang's jaw tightened.

"What, honey?" Max asked kinda embarrassed.

"Gwen is Fang's little sister! Their last name is Orksmith. So, it matches and they're related," Angel blabbered.

"Ok?" Max raised an eyebrow. She looked confused.

"She's right, they're siblings," I happened to get out without bursting into tears.

Fang only glanced left at me and right to Angel.

"Uh, I hear the scientist saying it…something about how if your DNA matches hers then you're related and all. Then they cheered and said that the 'Darkwings are siblings!' And how Gwen's DNA could hold the same key as yours," I gave further details. He stormed into the room where Gwen lay completely oblivious. She was covered in a freaking sheet and I really didn't appreciate everyone in the house going into see.

Fang stretched out his wing anpd held it close to hers, which was somewhat tucked under her. They matched. He held down his arm, looking at skin tone. Even though Gwen was a tad lighter pigment she still had olive skin. Lastly her hair was dark brown. His was black, but they were close. He turned to the group, sighed, rubbed his chin, and nodded. They _were_ related. Then he muttered a cuss word that sounded a lot like fudge, get the meaning here people! We were all standing there. Most amazed, others a little happy.

"You have to Fang!" Dr. M said a little to excitedly as she pulled out a needle and other things. Fang groaned and the others wished him luck as they turned to leave, not me. I went to Gwen's side and knelt down. She looked so peaceful, bruised, but sweet. I sighed and put my head against the mattress.

_If she didn't wake up…I wouldn't either…_

Apparently, Dr. M was done taking blood, 'cause something was hooked to Gwen's arm and she told me that it was time for surgery. I held up a thumbs up. She told me to move. I refused.

I didn't watch, no. I was to tired and worried. I kept my eyes closed and clutched to Gwen's hand. I hoped and prayed to whoever could hear that she'd make it out of this.

They're done! But the results aren't _guaranteed_. She still may not make it through. It sickened me. I was almost asleep when that boy that carried her came in.

"Sup, bro? How's she doin'?" He asked.

"Uh, she's out cold and just had surgery after loosing half of her blood, she's fine…bro," I snapped. He held up his hands to surrender.

"Gosh, I was just asking. You may need to go get some rest?" He tried.

"Yah, when pigs fly," I rolled my eyes. When I glanced up he had a disgusted look on his face.

"Did they make _flying_ pigs?" I questioned. He nodded.

"So, uh, how is she…is she gonna…pull through?" He got a little chocked up. I stood, making my knees pop._ How long had I been on my k_nees?

"I think she's doing better. Her pulse has…_steadied_," I mumbled. He sat down on the bed beside of her. He placed her little frail hand in his and smiled at her. Jealousy made me bare my teeth. _I don't think I like this guy…_

He pushed her bangs to the side. That stupid grin on his face was driving me crazy! Gwen was pretty much naked under a friggin sheet and he was sitting there flirting with her! She's unconscious _moron_! Ugh!

"No! Fang! I'm sure there was a perfectly good reason!" That was Max. Her voice sounded frantic.

In the next split second the dark emo man had stormed in and yanked me to my feet. Well, I was stunned. Then I noticed something was wrong. I couldn't breath. His hands were around my throat. I squirmed, unwilling to believe.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" He asked like everything was calm. I'm ashamed to say that I gargled.

I tried to say, "Let go of me!" But it ended up sounding like this, "Wet gaw ak murgle!"

He gave me a funny look. I was probably purple. Then Max screamed for Dylan.

"I swear! Put the kid down, Fang, before you kill him! Or I kill you!" Dylan shouted and warned.

Fang threw me to the ground. Then him and Dylan began to slug it out. I climbed to my feet and filled my lungs with air, preparing to be strangled again. I pried the two off each other. That's when I noticed that this fight wasn't with me. It was just a giant battle between boys that had gotten way out of hand. With my newfound strength I held them apart.

"Stop! Quit! Would you two just chill?!" I screamed. Ryan came up behind and grabbed Fang. After a couple minuets of everyone getting thrown to the ground we finally calmed down.

"Why?" He asked it over and over. I finally just sighed and told him to ask Gwen. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

_I was sitting in the dark and I heard them speaking of Gwen. Her brother, Zachary Orksmith, was indeed related to her. It was a "miracle" or so they called it. The dark one, Fang, was her 'brother'. Why I never told Gwen, I'd never know. She was KO'ed at the time. I guess I never wanted to worry her, or give her false hope. Now, it came back to bite me in the butt._

Everything began to soothe and slow, but the one thing I wanted, correction-needed, to move was still.

_Would Gwen wake up? Would she pull through to fight another day?_

**Ok! Review! Did you guess it? Any comments on Fang being Gwen's brother? C'mon peeps! Give me something!**

**Oh, today this kid asked me where we went when we died. He wouldn't shut up so I told him "The ground." The kid freaked!**


	26. Sleeping Beauty and The Kiss

**Warning: short chapter!**

**Sleeping Beauty and The Kiss**

Kale's P.O.V.

She was _still_ asleep. Dr. M made me leave for a few moments as she dressed Gwen. When it was time to go back in Ryan had bolted trough the doorway first. I followed close behind.

"She's looking better," he smiled with a slight nod. I bit my lip. This kid was _annoying_.

"Uh, why are you in here?" I asked. I admit, it was rude to say. He turned to me and looked a little embarrassed.

"Err, I…umm…I just really hope that's she's _ok_," he stuttered.

"You like her, right?" I said bluntly. He nodded more sheepishly. His cheeks turned red.

"Yah, a lot," he stared at the ground. I could've knocked this kid's lights out, but I decided to wait. We sat there awkwardly for a while. The tension was so great that I actually fidgeted in my chair. I was waiting for his next little comment…

-some many hours later…-

I jerked awake. Had I really fallen asleep? I must've been out a long time.

Ryan, the _saint_, was standing beside of Gwen's still unconscious form. He didn't know I was awake.

He sat down on the foot of the bed and sighed heavily. I watched him rise up again and begin to fiddle with the ripped hem of his shirt. He glanced at Gwen and the frown he wore warmed up. Then Ryan bent down and planted a smooth _kiss_ on her lips. I almost gagged. The worst part was yet to come.

_Gwen woke up… and kissed him back…_

**ooh, review! Plz?! **


	27. Hurt, Confused, Loved

**Hurt, Confused, Loved**

Gwen's P.O.V.

I had been dreaming about a lot of things. The Ultimate crap flashed through my mind along with the fact that I could be captured right about now. Then one person in particular stuck. _Ryan Vasquez_. Then a sharp pain shot through my entire body and my eyes shot open to see him, Ryan I mean, _kissing_ me! I almost gasped, gagged, or screamed, but I just went along with it…for a while.

"Oh, gosh, this is disgusting!" That was Kale. Then Ryan was pried away from me.

When I saw Kale's face, which I was used to having smiling and young, he was angry, tired, and worried.

"Kale?" I asked slowly. He looked down at me in a disgusted frown.

"Way to leave me here! Way to leave me sitting up all night waiting for you, and for what? Just so you could come back with a boyfriend?! Was that your stupid mission?!" He snapped. I shifted uncomfortably.

"No! We went to save Alex and…" I began.

"Yes, but you left me here! I didn't know where you were! Then you show up in a freaking wedding dress half dead and not expected to pull through!" He growled. What? Oh, yah, well maybe?

"I'm sorry Kale," I whispered. He got very close and bared his teeth. I had almost never seen him act like this.

"I was scared that you had died! I thought that I'd lost you," he snarled ever so quietly.

"Sorry," I tried again. Then he wrapped me in a hug and buried his face in my hair.

"Kale?" I questioned.

"I thought I had lost you. I thought you were gone and it almost killed me...I-I was _scared_, Gwen," his voice shook. That's the Kale I know. I pushed him back and wiped his tears away.

"I just, I figured you could live on your own for a few days," I mumbled.

"The bed was empty," he smirked.

"Yah," I grinned.

"I'll go get the others," Ryan offered. And like that he was off.

"Don't move," Kale ordered.

"I don't think I can," I grunted. He gave me a funny look.

"M-My s-side hurts bad!" I wailed as I wrapped my arms around my middle. Oh, gosh. The pain was like I had been set on fire on the inside.

"Gwen?" He asked softly as I bit down on my lip. I began to cough.

"Gwen, hun," I felt him grab my arm, but I was in to much pain to care. I couldn't speak. He laid me against his chest.

"Shh, it's fine. You just broke a rib," he rocked me back and forth. My arms were still wrapped around my middle when the others came in.

"What's wrong?!" Dr. M hurried forward and began to check me for wounds.

"She's hurting, bad," Kale explained.

"Gwen? Dear? Can you hear me?" She asked. I nodded a little.

"What hurts?" She proceeded on. I couldn't speak. My mouth opened but nothing came out. Kale looked down at me and then back to Dr. M.

"Her stomach or ribs," he tried. Then Dr. M gave me a shot and it soothed the pain. She forced me to lay down.

"That's enough action for you today," she grumbled. I tried to sit up anyway.

"Angel! Read my mind!" I hollered. The group _needed_ to know. They needed to know about what happened at the School.

The girl looked cautious. Then I felt drained and all I could hear was Dr. M say that "The medicine was working." And that I'd be out for a while.

Then I went under, dreaming of that _kiss_…

**Review**!


	28. The Reasons That Changed Minds

**The Reasons That Changed Minds**

Angel's P.O.V.

I quickly threw my hand to my temples trying to soak in information before Gwen passed out and her thoughts were blocked.

I did it!

"She's out! Man we should use that on Erasers!" Kale exclaimed.

"I got it! I think?" I smiled. All eyes turned to me.

"What did she say?" Max asked, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Wait, give me a minuet to filter…" I mumbled. Images flashed through my mind. One was of Ryan, he was making out with her. I gagged and glanced to him wiggling my eyebrows. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. Finally!

"Uh, well let's see… there's a bunch if big words that are said by Jeb," I couldn't speak it. Max growled at the word _Jeb_.

"Here!" Gazzy passed me a piece of paper. Ella yanked a pen out of Iggy's pocket and threw it to me.

I began to scribble down the words and info.

It ended up looking a lot like this.

_'Maximum-(Maximum Ride)~most power in mind and strength_

_Ultimate-(Flair)~an experiment combined with fire_

_Supreme-(Storm+x)~two beings able to control water_

_Chief-(x)~a boy controlling earth_

_Epic-(a child born from the Maximum)~extreme power'_

When I finished I read over it. Oh my gosh, it all makes sense now… I handed it over to Max and Fang. Everyone gathered around to see.

Max's jaw dropped. Fang's eyes widened. The others gulped.

"Hey! I'm one of the Supreme," Ice announced. We stared at him. An ice crystal formed in his hand.

"And I'm the Chief," Ryan smiled.

"So that's what they meant when they said that they wanted the Ultimate," Flair whispered. She looked scared and ashamed.

"That's why they want the baby," Max looked up to Fang. He sighed and gave a swift nod. Max's hand landed on her stomach.

"Is there anything else?" Alex asked me. I thought hard and chewed on my lip.

The fight flashed through my head.

Gwen was being beaten against a wall repeatedly. Jeez, I could feel her pain! My knees buckled under me and I fell. Tears streamed from my eyes.

"Angel! Forget it Angel!" Nudge wailed as Gazzy lifted me to my feet.

"I-I can feel her being…" that's all I got out before I screamed. How did Gwen survive this?! Then I quickly forgot and wipe away my tears. Questioning expressions met me when my eyes opened.

"I can't get past that," I sniffled, "I can't get any more information."

"I thought your head was gonna explode!" Jester threw his hands in the air.

I liked not being the youngest anymore. At least now I'll be treated like the ten year old I am.

"I think, I think we burned the School to the ground," Flair added. Everyone cheered an gave her a slap on the back.

"Gwen says they had her dressed up for _Slaughter Day,_" she continued. Kale sucked in a breath.

His mind repeated, "I_'ll kill those idiots, I'll rip off their heads and use them as golf balls!"_

That scared me so I stopped listening.

"You all should leave, Gwen needs time to rest," Dr. M urged. We all glanced back to the sleeping girl and nodded. Max an Fang rushed out of the room. They probably had to '_talk_' about this. I prepared myself for yelling, but before they got out of range Max grabbed Flair.

"You're in big trouble, later," Max scowled.

Flair gulped but crossed her arms and shot back another snide comment. "I've been through a lot, and I'm sure as heck that I'm not afraid of _you_."

Max turned and stomped off.

In Flair's head she was terrified. Max apparently did scare the tar out of her.

"Hello!" Jes wave his hand in front of my face. I looked down at him. That was new for me, usually I'm the shortest.

"Yah?" I questioned.

"Can you teach me tricks?" He shot me a pair of big, purple, pleading eyes. I sighed and nodded. He unfolded his little green wings and bolted through the door.

I couldn't help but wonder about what would happen next. What would we do? They wanted Flair. They wanted Max and the baby.

_Why was I not valuable anymore?_

**Ok, filler chapter. Anyway…please review!**


	29. Blue Flames

**Blue Flames**

Flair's P.O.V.

"Ooh! You're busted!" Ice laughed.

"Shut up!" I snapped.

"What did you do?" Jace asked. I sighed.

"I snuck out to come save you all," I mumbled.

"You're part cat too?!" Ebony cried from somewhere nearby.

"Yah, look I have the tail to prove it," Alex smiled and flicked her cat tail side to side.

"I'm part cat!" Ebony explained.

"Sweet!" Alex squealed. Then they giggled and slapped high fives.

"Whoa! You control water, huh?" Storm came up, questioning Ice.

"I control _ice_," Ice said. Well that's not obvious-sarcasm.

"Cool," Storm nodded.

"You can control like rock, right?" Dylan asked Ryan as he came inside.

"Yup," Ryan grinned.

"Alright, here!" Dylan screamed as he chucked a rather large rock forward. Ryan caught it in mid air, but not with his hand. It hovered there for a second before he turned and jerked the rock down.

"Wow," Dylan breathed.

Ryan bowed.

"What do you do?" Nudge poked Melee. Melee jumped up from where she was sitting.

"Don't touch me," Melee growled.

"Oh, sorry! I just though that you weren't paying attention and…" Nudge rambled.

"I wasn't," Melee frowned.

"Oh! So you didn't hear a word I said? Lets start again! My names Nudge! I'm 16 and all. I have a knack with computers and I'm magnetic!" Nudge introduced.

"And as for the question asking what I do," Crenshaw grumbled lifting her hand. The couch trembled for a while before it turned in the opposite direction and was scooted to the other wall. Nudge shrieked.

"Telekinesis," Melee added as she turned and stalked away.

I could hear Max and Fang shouting upstairs. I knew that I would soon be yelled at.

"Flair! Hey! I've been talking to you for the last three minuets!" Ice shook me.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"You're an _a**,_" he grumbled.

"What did you just call me?!" I launched myself from the comfy chair I was nestled in.

"You heard it," he narrowed his eyes.

"Let me just tell you something…" I began. An ice dagger appeared in his hand. A ball of fire formed in mine.

"I'm listening, but words just seem to always bounce right off…" he taunted.

"Your thick head? Is it hollow, or are you just brain dead?!" I finished for him. He clenched tighter to the dagger.

"Girls aren't supposed to challenge _men_," he said cockily.

"First off, SEXIST PIG! Secondly, you aren't a _man_. And lastly, I could kick your raggedy hind end into the next generation!" I growled.

"I'm shaking!" He rolled his eyes.

"I'll roast you!" I sneered.

"Oh no!" He fake fainted. I grabbed the him by the collar of his shirt and jerked him forward. My hand full of flames raised, ready to strike. He looked a little afraid, but not merely enough.

"Please don't kiss me," he grinned.

I brought my fist of fire closer. He gulped.

"Look! Glitter!" He pointed over my shoulder. It didn't faze me.

"Not into that kind of crap?" He raised an eyebrow. I narrowed my eyes.

"Uh, look Justin Bieber is jumping off a cliff!" He tried again.

"I'll pop popcorn as soon as I'm finished with you," I growled from deep in my throat.

"Come on, _babe_!" He groaned. _Babe_?! No! I threw him to the ground and brought a foot down on his chest.

"I'm **NOT** your _babe_," I warned.

"Don't break a nail, _baby_," he continued.

I yelled and almost let the fire loose, but I noticed that the flames were blue. I had never done that before! I watched as they turned back to red, then faded to yellow. Eventually they were gone. Ice's stupid smile returned and he grabbed my hands, yanking me to the floor. I hit with a thud and he rolled over on me. His face was three inches from mine.

"I win!" He cheered. I rolled my eyes.

Then he planted a slight kiss on my lips and jumped up, strutting away. I was left on the hard ground bubbling with anger. I **hate** that stupid boy!

**ooh! Review! **


	30. So What! Spank Me!

**So What?! Spank Me!**

**A/N: please realize that this is a play on words. ****_Sue Me!_****-meaning I don't give a rats butt anymore- is change to ****_Spank Me! _****I think you'll realize why as you read****.**

Flair's P.O.V.

"Flair!" Max's voice boomed. I got to my feet and trotted upstairs, trying not to look worried.

When I got to _their_ room I slowly stepped inside. There she stood. I thought of bowing, but that would probably just get me smacked. I jammed my hands in my pockets and stared at the ground.

"We told you not to leave," Max started. I nodded.

"Because we knew that you, uh, we're wanted," she continued. I didn't budge.

"Would you look up!" She ordered. My head whipped up to see her standing there, arms crossed.

"What?" I snapped. She barred her teeth and stared me down.

"You almost killed Gwen, that's what!" She screamed. The guilt hit me again. It was worse then when I found Gwen laying on the School's tiled floor.

A tear leaked from my eye. It rolled down my cheek as Max pressed on.

"And for what?! Just to save someone who really wasn't in immediate danger! Flair I've told you a million times to stay put! You put Gwen's life on the freaking line for selfish reasons!" Max's hands were now flailing.

"It wasn't selfish! No one should be kept in a cage!" I barked. Max fell silent.

"They weren't in cages!" She shrieked.

"They could've been! They were under lock and key!" I defended.

"You didn't just risk your own life, all of our lives were laid on the line! What if they would've caught you and made you talk?!" Max moved on.

"I wouldn't have!" I promised.

"We can all say that, Flair!" Max rolled her eyes.

"Gwen didn't! She didn't sing like a canary when they asked her! Heck! They even _shot_ her!" I interrupted.

"And we are _lucky_ that's she's faithful, but that doesn't change what could've happened, Flair. The group is expanding rapidly. Six new members? What are we gonna do with half a dozen new members? Hmm?! And considering one can't even fly well…" she went to far.

"Jes is a strong kid, Max! It's not his fault he's so young," I broke loose. She looked like she wanted to take that part back, but she didn't say it.

"He's only seven, and he's very sweet, but uh…he's _weak_," she whispered.

"He's keeping his _humanity_! Something that you _failed_ at!" My voice was rising.

"Excuse you!" Max glared at me.

"You heard!" Oh gosh, I was using _Ice's_ words.

"I've kept this family together long before you came here!" She bellowed.

"Don't pull that card on me! That's bull crap! And about this _dysfunctional_ family…!" I hollered.

"You are in no place to tell me what to do!" Max snapped.

"You are in no condition to be leader! Why don't you and your emo husband just keep your noses in you're own dang business! We'd all be so much better off if you'd just back off!" I shrieked. Then we had a stare down, and I was loosing.

"I was afraid of loosing you, Flair. Don't make me regret it! Can't you just admit that you did something wrong, for once?!"

"Only if you can!"

"That was stupid Flair!"

"Saving my _sister_ is **not** stupid!"

Then she was silent. Steam was about to roll out of my ears. I was _really_ mad.

"Is that all you wanted to rant about? I'm done here," I turned and stomped off, leaving them flabbergasted.

Max is an _idiot_! How dare she…ugh!

But one thing was true-_ I put Gwen's life in danger- _and I felt terrible.

Then I heard her call me back upstairs.

"I don't care anymore! Spank me!" I threw my arms in the air and stalked off, daydreaming of ripping that lady's tongue out. Stupid, stupid, STUPID!

**Ok! Review! How did you like the fight between the two? What will happen next?! REVIEW!**


	31. Something Important

**Something Important**

Gwen's P.O.V.

I opened my eyes. The light shone in. I held up my arm to keep the glare out.

I was _finally_ awake! Yes! I slowly sat up and looked around.

There was no one in the room. Not a soul.

"Kale? Ryan?" I called hoarsely. No one answered, so I quietly scooted off the edge off the bed. My middle hurt, along with _everything_ else. I tried to spread my wings, but a sharp pain hit. Then I remembered that I had probably broken a few bones. How I had flown for that long like this was a mystery. I was cut up all over.

As my feet shuffled across the cool hardwood floor I remembered what had happened before I was knocked out, for a second time. Ryan had kissed me. I shivered.

After what seemed like ages my hand grasped the door knob. I went to turn it, but the door was yanked open and there stood Kale. He looked tired. When he laid eyes on me, they softened and he wrapped me in a hug. We rocked back and forth. His face was buried in my neck.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yah," I nodded.

"You scared the crap out of me," he whispered.

"I missed you. I missed your little goofy grin," I smiled. He pushed me back and shot me that grin of his. It made me laugh, a bit.

"You were _drooling_," he stated. I rolled my eyes as he imitated.

"You're so stupid, where's Ryan?" I changed the subject as I glanced hopefully over Kale's shoulder.

"Ryan this, Ryan that! What am I?! Chopped liver!" He grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"Kale! Don't be so stubborn and self centered," I scolded as I walked past. He sighed.

There sat Ryan, his feet propped up on the coffee table. He was asleep. I tiptoed over and poked him. He jerked awake and threw his fists up. Then he noticed it was me and chilled.

"How's it going, Gwen?" He yawned.

"Fine…Fine…Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you alone?" I whispered.

"_Talk_!" Kale snorted somewhere in the background.

"Don't be a perv!" I snapped over my shoulder. He rolled his eyes.

"Um, how exactly am I supposed to work this?" That was Nudge. She was trotting down the steps holding a bottle of _dye_.

"Gwen!" She shrieked. Then she bounded forward to give me a hug.

"You're awake!" Alex followed behind.

"Gwen! Guys! Gwen is awake!" Ebony screamed up the steps. Then she copied Nudge and Alex.

"Really?!" Angel bounced down the steps. When she saw me her white wings unfolded and she fluttered forward. How many hugs can I get?

"Did I hear that right?" Flair called down the steps.

"Get your hind end down here and see for yourself!" I shouted. It sounded like a herd of _elephants_ were tromping down.

The boys whooped and hollered as they bolted forward. Flair got to me first, though.

"When did you decide to wake up?" Jace asked.

"Took you long enough," Ice mumbled.

"What the heck? You people _really_ are _crazy_…" Melee finally got here. Her arms were crossed and she stared at us in disgust.

"Would you all let go!" I wheezed. "I already have a broken rib, lets not make it _two_!"

They eventually backed off. I sighed in relief.

"Gwen! Oh! Gwen! You fell asleep, but while you were asleepin' we flew and stuff! It took a long time, but we got here and junk. Now I made a new friend. His name is _Gasser_!" Jes bounced up and down.

"Gazzy," the Gasman corrected.

"_Gatsby_," Jes tried again.

"No, Gazzy," he persisted.

"_Gurgly_?"

"Gazzy!"

"_Gas-pie_?"

"GAZZY!"

"Ga-…I give up, I'm gonna just call you _Fred_," Jes gave a grin.

"Fred?! My name isn't _Fred_ it's…" Gazzy whined.

"Look here buddy, I's gots a tooth missin' and I can't pronounce your name. It's like Spanish or something, so from now on I'll call you Fred," Jester explained.

Gazzy sighed and face palmed himself.

"Anyway…we's friends and he's teachin' me to make things go," then Jes paused for a _dramatic_ silence…, "**BOOM**!"

I admit, I jumped some. Jester playing with bombs?! Oh no, no, no…well, they'd be _colorful_. He'd probably like fireworks… What am I saying?! That's a _terrible_ idea!

"G-Gwen," Dylan looked uneasy.

"Y-Yes?" I mocked. He shot me a glare.

"We, uh, need to tell you something," Kale finished. My eyes widened.

"I'm standing right here," I put a hand on my hip. The others faded back, _way_ back.

"Are you sure you want to tell her now, _Iceberg_?" Iggy asked. Kale frowned at him. Iggy smiled an shrugged. Kale, iceberg...oh, I get it! Gosh, I'm slow.

That's when Ella, Fang, and Max decided to make a grand entrance. Dylan shot them an angry look. Kale gulped. Fang _shied_ away, for once.

"What's going on?" I questioned cautiously. Kale laid a hand on my shoulder and sucked in a breath.

"You know your missing brother, _Zachary Orksmith?_" Kale whispered. I nodded.

"Meet _Zachary_," I followed his finger, it was pointing to Fang. My eyebrows scrunched up.

"What?!" I shrieked. My freaking eyes started to water.

"That's not funny, Kale!" I pushed him.

"No, because its _true_," he continued. I bit down on my lip and closed my eyes for a second. This was a _sick trick…_it **had** to be, but when I opened my eyes Fang was playing along. He stared at me and I gawked at him.

I took a deep breath before I went into total rage. I turned to Kale.

"This isn't a funny _prank_ Kale," I whimpered. I could see it in his eyes. It wasn't the look he had before he burst into _laughter_, no, it was the one he had before he started _crying_.

_This was real…_

**ok! Please review! Next chapter will be Gwen's reaction-which, by the way, isn't pretty. If you don't get Iggy's Iceberg lettuce joke look up kale. It's a leafy green plant. Anywho, please review! Ps. The next chapter will contain *'ed out cussing. From Gwen, of coarse. REVIEW!**


	32. The Raven And The Crow

**Alright! This gets kinda sad and mature, so there's your warning!**

**The Raven And The Crow**

Kale's P.O.V.

"What the h*** is wrong with you?!" She screeched. This was killing me.

"Gwen," I calmed.

"Don't '_Gwen_' me! This is…there isn't a freaking word to describe it!"

"I'm sorry, I should've told you sooner, but…"

"How long have you known?!"

"Since we were twelve, but I didn't tell you because…"

"You're d*** right you didn't tell me! What the heck, Kale?!" She turned on me. Her shoulders squared and her green eyes flashed with fury.

"I couldn't tell you! I knew it would crush your heart!"

"My mother is out there searching for Zachary! She's out there looking! For what?! Nothing! That's what our whole lives were based on and you figure it out and decide to just keep it a _secret_?!" I was afraid she'd pull this card.

"What?" Fang interrupted.

"Shut up!" Gwen snapped. Man, she was scary.

"Gwen, please," I tried again to make her chill.

"I thought you were my friend! What's wrong with you?!" She shrieked. Tears streamed from her eyes. My heart burned. When she got upset I got upset. It's a bond. Hot tears dripped down from her cheeks. I tried to wipe them away, but se grabbed me by the front of my shirt and threw me to the ground. "Go s*** yourself!" She grumbled. Then Gwen hurried to the door and ran out. I collected myself and began to follow.

"Kale, just leave her. It's better she work it out _alone_…" Dylan persisted as he latched on to my arm.

"Look who I'm taking _relationship_ advice from," that was hateful of me, but it needed to be said. He stared into my eyes as I jerked away. He looked defeated. I just hoped someone found him some ointment for that _burn_…

I sprinted outside, but froze. Where did she go? My heart was pounding. Then I heard sniffles and whimpering. I followed the sound to the side of the house. There sat Gwen. Her knees were hugged to her chest. Her head was hung down. I slowly walked over and stared down at her. I've never seen Gwen break down like this-not even when we were _captured_. I went to my knees and scooted real close. She was balling her eyes out. I grabbed her shoulder, but she wouldn't look up. I pulled her to me.

Now, dear readers, you might be wandering if she's crying tears of _joy_. The answer is…**no**.

I guess now you're asking "_Why_?" And stating "_She should be happy! She found her freaking brother!" _Well, the answer is quit _simple_.

Firstly, these are rivers of sorrow that cut so deeply into her soul that it would make any sane person loco.

Let me give you a history lesson, from the start…

It was a long time ago when Gwen's mother, Beth, had her first child. Beth was only in high school, and her boyfriend was a rather _rough_ fellow. He smoked _weed_ and _drank_ his days away. When Beth found that she'd have a kid she tried to run away. She tried to run from home, her parents-who were angrier than ever, and she tried to run from _Dan_-her boyfriend. It didn't work. Dan found her and _literally_ threw her into his car. He drove for miles, into the next state, and married Beth. She was _his_. By the time their son, Zachary…or _Fang_, arrived Beth had already been _beaten_. Dan was drinking more than ever, and he didn't come home until three in the morning. One day, when Zachary was three _weeks_ old, Beth snuck out to an orphanage twi towns over. She gave Zachary up, hoping to give him a _better_ life. Dan found out, _eight_ days later, and decided to beat Beth till she _collapsed_. Beth was taken back to the hospital and Dan was arrested. Beth moved into my parents' neighborhood. She got a house and a job. Dylan was born by this time. Dan was sentenced to four years for his _inhumane_ deeds. The fourth year rolled by quickly. Beth became fearful, or so my mother tells me. Then one rainy night Dan rang her doorbell and threatened Beth. She let him in. A month later they found out that they were having another kid. Mother said that Beth started to neglect her job, and the house. Weird bruises started to appear on Beth, each had a different story-or a _lie._ Gwen came along, and I followed two months behind. As school time approached Beth began to fret more. The first day if school was revolutionary. The kids _mocked_ Gwen, I remember a black bruise around her eye. On the bus ride home people threw stuff at her, me included. I guess everyone's parents told them that Gwen was a piece of _**trash**_, along with the rest of her family. A couple of years later her little brother was born. His name is Carl, he would now be _ten_. Then a year after that their little sister Sylvia was born. By the time Carl was five he too was beaten. Once, Dan hit the kid repeatedly with a broom. When Carl collapsed rage filled Gwen's veins. She struck back with a cup of her father's _coffee_. It scolded his face. At the time Beth wasn't home, so Gwen gathered her siblings and ran them to our house, but not before her father _stabbed_ her **nine** times with a steak knife. Dan was thrown in jail for abuse. He was in jail for _life_. Gwen was in fact overweight from the stress, something I didn't understand until years later after I had been locked in a cage with her. She was still bullied and picked on, but one thing I respected was her _will power_. She kept her head above water. Every weekend her mother would go around the states searching for Zachary. She wanted him back, but the orphanage was '_relocated_' and they never found him. That's what Gwen's life consisted of, caring for her siblings and trying to find Zachary. That's when she was stolen away on that fatal day at the bus stop.

Gwen _knows_ that her mother is in _shock_. Beth has lost two of her children. Gwen probably doubts if her mother could keep it together.

"Gwen, honey," I cooed. Violent sobs raked through her body. She trembled in my arms. I could feel her tears soaking trough my shirt.

"D-Don't let t-them s-see me c-crying," she begged.

"I won't, I won't," I assured as I unfolded my wings and wrapped them around her. She was curled in a ball.

"Gwen, Gwen! Sh, sh," I rubbed her arm.

"Mom has been s-searching for us, b-but she won't find us 'cause we're both h-here!" She wailed.

"I know," I whispered. I just sat there and let her cry her heart out.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"'Cause I knew you'd do this," I gestured all around.

"I was gonna keep it a secret, but you were loosing blood and they needed someone with your type. Dr. M thought you weren't going to pull through and I freaked. Angel is the one who told. I was to much of a _sissy,_" I explained.

Finally she calmed down and got herself together.

"Ready to go inside?" I asked. She nodded and stood. I followed. She slowly walked to the door. I laced my fingers with hers and gave her a reassuring smile. She let go of my hand. I wish I had that lampshade so she couldn't see my defeated expression. I just can't get a break!

Gwen opened the door. We were greeted by the whole bunch, humans to the winged. They all sat there with their head hung down and their hands clasped together. Fang jumped to his feet. His eyes showed curiosity, something I _never_ thought he had. Max hooked to his arm. Gwen walked over to him. I stayed at the door. She stood, bravely, in front of Fang. She had to look up at him. I saw her lip tremble, but she bit it and turned rock solid again.

"Hello, Zachary Orksmith," she held out her hand. He raised an eyebrow before he shook it.

"I guess your mom isn't a drug addict after all, Fang," Gazzy stated.

"Why would she give me up?" He was staring at Gwen when he asked it.

"She wanted you to have a _better_ life than being beaten by _Dan_," Gwen said, she looked hurt, but she was fighting.

"Who's Dan?" Fang asked.

"Our father," Gwen explained. He fell silent.

"He's gone now. He beat us all, Carl and Sylvia (_our_ siblings) included. Then one day I threw coffee at him and he stabbed me _nine_ times. He's in jail for life," Gwen added. Fang's eyes widened.

"He stabbed you?" Fang questioned. Gwen nodded and looked at the ground.

"Yah, but it's fine now. You need to see mom, she's been searching for you for a _long_ time," Gwen changed the subject.

"Searching for _me_?" Fang sounded stunned.

"She, uh, wanted you back. It's pretty hard to track you down when the School is involved," she gave a fake grin.

Fang looked to Max with pleading eyes.

"You want to see her, don't you?" Max rolled her eyes.

"Yah! I have siblings!" Fang nodded. Max face palmed herself.

"Can I see my Ma?! Please! Please! _Please_!" I begged.

"Give me time to think!" Max snapped. We all quieted down, waiting for an answer.

"I _guess_, **but** we have to…" Max began to rant. We all cheered.

Fang hugged his baby sister. It was so out of character, but it was pretty cool.

All I could think about was how they looked like a raven and a crow. Brother and sister finally found each other. Gwen was bringing Zachary home. Wouldn't Beth be proud?

_A raven and a crow…_

**Ok, so that was depressing. So here's a special**!

**Chat****! **

**Me: Alright! We're gonna talk about the relationship issues here…**

**Ice: What the heck is wrong with the title?! Jes could've come up with something better than this!**

**Me: Don't interrupt! **

**Jester: Did I hear my name?! **

**Melee Crenshaw: No! Shut up, idiot, and go back to your stupid coloring books!**

**Me: You all aren't even supposed to be in this!**

**Jace Winters: Aren't we important?**

**Me: Ugh!**

**Flair: Say yes or I'll burn your eyebrows off!**

**Alex: Stop pulling my tail Kale! It's not gonna come off!**

**Kale: Sorry!**

**Ebony&Storm: What is this?**

**Me: if your name isn't Ryan or Kale leave!**

***others leave***

**Ryan Vasquez: What is this about again? I wasn't listening.**

**Kale: Oh! I get it! Chat! Like talking?**

**Me: Yes! Here's the question!**

**Kale: Lay it on me!**

**Me: ok, so The Winged Nyan gave me this idea. She's team Lampshade, so I figured we could do teams. Like team Lampshade and team Ryan.**

**Kale: Ooh! Me first! I'm team Lampshade! It sounds awesome!**

**Me: You are team Lampshade, moron!**

**Ryan: *snickers***

**Kale: Sweet! King of the LAMPSHADES!**

**Iggy: More like King of the Lettuce Heads!**

**Me: how did you get in here?!**

**Iggy: I just kinda…spoke**

**Ryan: we need a better name then 'Team Ryan'!**

**Me: True…**

**Kale: Wait! I'm confuzzled! What are the teams for?**

***Awkward silence***

**Me: Who gets Gwen…**

**Ryan: I win! Duh!**

**Kale: Why are we doing this? She's just a friend**

**Iggy: *burst into song* We just wanna be more than friends!**

**Kale: Shut up!**

**Ryan: So do the reviewers just say what they want?**

**Me: yep!**

**Ryan: I win!**

**Kale: Whats wrong with me?**

**Ryan and Iggy: *burst out into laughter***

**Me: this is gonna take a while…**

**Ryan: well… lets see. 1) you're stupid 2) you're immature 3) You aren't attractive…at all! And 4) she just thinks you're a goofy little kid who's afraid of the dark!**

**Kale: Well! Mr. Hateful!**

**Me: ok! We're gonna leave now before punches are thrown! Review and say which team you're on! **


	33. On Our Way

**On Our Way**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"Alright! Only a few of you are going!" Max started.

"Gwen, Kale, Fang, and Dylan are going. The rest of you say your goodbyes, and don't keep them from packing!" Max barked orders. I sighed and started for the steps when Ryan grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to the back door.

"You could've just said '_Come over here'_!" I laughed.

"Yah, but then your little _sheep_ would've followed, Bo Peep," he grinned as he put a finger to my lips and yanked the door open.

"Go!" He hurried. I rolled my eyes and continued out the door. He shut it and turned to me.

"Alright, now we can _talk_," he sighed as he slumped against the door.

"That…that…err…that k-k…" I couldn't get it out. I got the jitters. He looked up to me and swiped the hair out of his eyes.

"The _kiss_, Porky Pig?" He finished. I swallowed and nodded.

"I figured," he looked away.

"Was that real?" I asked.

"You weren't dreaming, and Kale _defiantly_ thought it was, so yah. That was real," Ryan assured.

"No! I mean, do you _like_ me?" I whispered.

"No, I just go around kissing every girl I see…YES I like you!" Ryan exclaimed with sarcasm. I smiled and blushed, but overhead we heard a slight gasp and a form fell down. Wings spread and tried to catch it, but the being landed _clumsily_ in a wad on the ground. That's when I knew it was _Kale_.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed. He climbed to his feet and dusted himself off.

"I'm _not_ doing what you think I am!" He shouted. Ryan lunged forward, grabbing Kale by the collar of his shirt.

"You stupid, immature spy!" Ryan growled. Kale's eyes widened.

"I am not spying! I just simply overheard something and it struck me so that I fell out the window!" Kale defended.

"And what, exactly, were you doing hanging out the window?" I questioned, propping a hand on my hip. Like I didn't already know the answer…

"It's a free country and I can do whatever I want!" Kale crossed his arms. Ryan frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"All _lambs_ have to go to _slaughter_ some time, hmm Bo Peep? Why not by my _fist_!" And with that the boys got into a scuffle.

The door opened and there stood Ella with a bag full of trash.

"Geez! Seriously?!" She groaned.

"Max! There's a _mini_ Fang and Dylan fight out here!" She yelled over her shoulder. Then she tossed the trash to Kale and said, "Throw this away, I don't want to get in the middle of this."

As Ella closed the door Kale looked down at the trash bag and smirked. He grabbed it by the top and swung. It hit Ryan and then it was on. Kale armed with the trash and Ryan wielding a trash can lid that he found on the steps.

"BOYS! QUIT!" I yelled as I pushed them apart. I glanced at each. Kale's nostrils flared and Ryan was obviously ignoring me.

"Kale! Go inside! _Now_!" I ordered. He resisted at first, but then I pushed him inside and locked the door. Ryan was panting. He looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"Ryan?" I calmed as I _pried_ the lid from his grip.

"Sorry, that kid just…I should try harder to get along, but he's…" Ryan tried to explain.

"_Stupid_, I know…" I gave a slight chuckle. He nodded and stood straighter to wipe his hands on his pants.

"I'll, uh, see ya when you get back," he frowned.

"Yep, I'll be waiting," I said awkwardly. Then he hugged me tight and then quickly let go.

"Don't die, or come home in a wedding dress. If Kale says anything I'll rip his throat out!" He grumbled.

"Kale's just _protective_. I'm the only thing he has left. Besides, he's scared off the dark…it's not like you couldn't just cut off the lights for payback," I laughed.

"He talked to me while you were asleep. We had an argument about who was better, me or him, and it got to the point to where we threw punches. He said that I've only known you for a couple of hours and he's known you for years…lada lada blah blah. Anyway, you don't like him, _do you_?" Ryan stared into my eyes.

"He's a _friend_," I shrugged.

"Gwen! Gosh! Hurry up! We've got to GO!" Fang threw the door open and grabbed my shoulder, dragging me inside.

"Fine!" I snapped. Ryan followed.

"Here!" Kale tossed me a backpack. It was full.

"You packed _my_ bag?" I asked.

"Yep," he mumbled. Ryan sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Ok, so you all are going to be good, _right_?" Max said as she looked at the three boys.

"Yup!" Kale nodded and smiled as he shifted under his pack.

"You're going to send Dylan and Fang…_together_?" Nudge asked warily.

"Gwen can control them," Max winked at me. Oh no, no, no! Don't leave me with the morons!

"Gwen can't fly! She broke some of the bones in her wings!" Dr. M interrupted.

"That's easy!" Kale laughed as he threw me over his shoulder, making Ryan growl.

"From my calculations, Kale's new power should allow him to carry her at great speeds for nearly nine hours-no breaks," Susan agreed.

"You got a _power_?" I asked as I slid off his shoulder. He nodded and shied away a little.

"Strength," he whispered.

"_Lucky_ you! I have _nothing_!" I punched him playfully.

"Yah," he chuckled.

"Alright! Lets go!" Fang hurried.

"Did you forget something?!" Max crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Right!" Fang remembered as he went to hug her. Dylan gagged a bit. Dylan really had to turn around when Fang kissed her goodbye.

"Ok, here Gwen, you can have this. It'll pick up way up high and it has a tracker in it incase you don't come home for a while so we'll know where to find you," Jim handed me a _phone_.

"Cool," Kale breathed as he reached for it and began pressing random buttons. I snatched it from him.

"This is not goodbye, right?" Jes asked as he gave me puppy eyes.

"We'll come home, I swear," I nodded. Then Dr. M came forward to give us all hugs.

"Be safe, Gwen take care of the boys," she said. I nodded.

"Storm's in charge while I'm gone," Dylan said to the Migration, including the new members.

"Lets go!" Fang urged. I tucked the phone in my pocket and Kale picked me up, bridal style. He shot a grim smile to Ryan who gave him the I'm-watching-you! symbol. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Up and away!" Dylan called.

And just like that we left the mansion behind. We were heading to our own town. I'm not going to tell you where it is, just incase you're creepy stockers-no offense.

-some many hours later-

"This phone _rocks_!" I laughed. I was texting Flair about a little incident that happened while I was asleep.

_'So what happened?_' I texted. A couple of seconds later came her reply.

'We were fighting and he pinned me…'

_'Ok, go on!'_

'Chill, like I was saying, he pinned me and mocked me. Then he…'

'_Gosh! You're killing me, Flair!'_

'LOL, it works! Anyway, he kissed me.'

'_WHAT?! XOXO! Flair3Ice! Wow! Go team Opposites!'_

'I don't 3 him! He kissed **ME**!'

'_And you loved it!'_

'Did **NOT**!'

'_Sure, sure, XD like I believe that! If you had kids would they control flaming water? LOL! JK!'_

'I hate you! And no I don't love him! I almost gagged and died! :*( it was disgusting! And I hate him, too!'

_'Fice? Flice? Ilair? Iflair? I can't think of a good one!'_

'Shut up! If I could send fire through the phone…!'

Then I burst into laughter. Kale glanced down at me.

"What are you giggling about?" He questioned.

"Nothing," I lied.

'Srry, I have to get off cuz Max is yelling at Iggy and Gazzy for blowing up the blender. Guess who lit the fuze ;)'

I turned the cell phone off and put it in my pocket.

"It's getting dark," Dylan yelled back, "so start looking for a motel!"

Kale shifted me and stared down into my eyes.

"Are you tired?" He asked.

"I haven't done _anything_," I chuckled.

"I feel like I'm carrying a cuddly teddy bear," he mumbled.

"Did you just call me _fat_?" I almost shouted.

"Nope, I called you _cuddly_!" He smiled as he squeezed me to him.

"You're stupid," I groaned as I pushed away. I didn't count on rolling out of his arms.

"Gwen!" Fang shouted. Kale swooped down and grabbed my wrist. He hauled me back up.

"You scared the frick out of me!" Kale panted.

"_You_ were scared?!" I joked. He only clutched to me harder.

-after the sun went down-

The sun sunk below the horizon and rolling hills, basking the fields below in golden light. As dusk took over I felt even more cozy. A cool chill was in the breeze, and as I looked over Kale's shoulder I could see gray voids of clouds chasing us.

"Guys! It's gonna pour!" I screamed. Then a flash of light filled the sky and Kale jumped. Thunder roared, filling my ears and echoing over the barren, empty land below.

"We have to land!" Dylan ordered over the pelting rain.

Lightning cracked again. It whipped through the air. As the thunder sounded again my adrenaline spiked.

"Don't let go of me Gwen," Kale said sternly as I latched to his shirt, that was soaked. Another gust of wind blew by with such force Kale's wings bent in.

"There's a tiny town!" Fang pointed ahead.

"Ok! We'll meet there! Go!" Dylan cried.

And that was the last we heard of him, for the white electric strip shot down and Kale had to back pedal in order to keep us from being fried.

"We're going _down_!" Kale screamed at me. He hugged me close as his wings folded in. We did land, or crash. A small abandoned convenient store was the only thing that could keep us from the rain.

"C'mon!" He called. His hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me inside. He slammed the door shut.

I stood there dripping wet and shivering.

"That was great!" He sighed and sat down, leaning against an empty shelf. I tried to warm myself.

"Come here before you get sick and we have to baby you, _again_," Kale motioned me over. I sat down awkwardly beside him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer.

"I hate storms!" He grumbled. I yawned and sunk down.

"Go to sleep Gwen, it's ok. I got you," Kale assured.

"I'm **not** scared," I chuckled.

"Yes you are, shut up," he said stubbornly. I only rolled my eyes and rolled over. This trip wasn't going so well.

**review! Which team r u on?**


	34. Big Brothers

**Big Brothers**

Dylan's P.O.V.

_Zap_! I screamed in surprise. That's when I knew I was lucky, the lightning didn't hit me. Kale, on the other hand, I wasn't sure of.

"Fang!" I called. He was to far ahead. When I looked back I could see through the raindrops. They landed. I turned and followed Fang, that feeling in my gut making me sick. Eventually I caught up.

"There's a motel below!" He screamed over the sounds of the storm. Wind whipped my hair to the side and we were picked up and dropped.

"L-Land!" I shouted. He dropped, and I copied.

We landed in a field about a mile from the motel.

"Where's Gwen?!" He asked.

"Kale got separated from me. They landed farther back, I think I saw a store they probably planned on hiding in," I explained. Another roar of thunder.

"Lets move!" He ordered. I silently agreed. We were running as fast as our legs could carry us. The motel came into view and we tucked in our wings.

We entered the lobby in a jog, making the lady at the front desk look up. We tried to act casual, but our shoes squeaked and everywhere we stepped there was a trail of water. We came to the front desk and just stood there.

"Oh, uh, a room please?" I said hoarsely.

"_Sure_, credit or debit?" She asked. This time we really did just stand there and stare.

"Let me see," Fang said as he rummaged through his pack.

"Debit," I said as I put a bundle of cash on the counter. What? I was prepared. She smiled and handed us the keys.

"Room 206," she said with fake enthusiasm. I snatched them and threw my pack back over my shoulder.

We walked solemnly up the steps and rounded a corner on the second floor to head to our room.

"What are we going to do?" Fang asked. I was stunned. He asked _me_?

"Oh, all mighty one! I now to your knees! I, your _servant_, wait for your command," I joked, but it was _kinda_ real.

"This is serious, Dylan. Our little siblings are out there…_alone_. Anything could attack them, the Erasers could track them down," Fang blabbered.

"They're _stronger_ than us, they'll be fine," I chuckled as I stuck the key in the door.

"No they aren't…err-well, _maybe_," he thought aloud.

"Face it. Gwen is the _best_ fighter we have…and Kale doesn't let anything get him down," I added as I turned the knob.

"True, but can they take on a _whole_ pack?" Fang was still questionable.

"Think _yes_, always," I said. We walked in the room and sighed.

I laid down on the bed and the crisp sheet wrinkled beneath me.

"We should call Max," I tried. Fang looked at me weird.

"That'll just make her want to fly down here to look and Valencia says she can't or it'll…" he began.

"Damage your _precious_ baby! I know! They can tell us if they get a call from them, though," I finished. He frowned as I sat up and dialed the home number. It rang multiple times before Nudge picked up.

"_Hello_?" She asked warily.

"Nudge, it's Dylan. Can I talk to Max?" I said while glancing at Fang, who was wringing his hands.

"MAX! DYLAN IS ON THE PHONE AND HE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" Nudge called in the background.

"What's going on?" Max asked from far away.

"I don't know," Nudge said, her voice was blurry.

"_Dylan_?" Max finally picked the phone up.

"Who else?" I laughed as I leaned back in my chair, sending it on the back legs. Before I could stop the chair had fallen backwards, me going with it. The phone fell from my hands and I landed letting out an exasperated "_Oof_". Fang recovered the device and shot me a grim smile. I growled inwardly.

"Yah, we got separated in a storm and now I'm stuck with this _moron_," Fang chuckled. I got to my feet and started setting the chair back on four legs.

"Oh, she has a cell phone?! Call it now!" Fang almost yelled.

"We'll I can't call her while I'm on the phone with you!" Max snapped. Then it was _my_ turn to laugh.

"Oh," Fang calmed a bit.

"Ok, I'll call. _Hopefully_ she picks up," Max said.

"I love you," Fang whispered.

"Just call the freaking number!" I barked.

Then there was silence as we waited for the phone to ring again. It did, _sooner_ than we expected.

"Hey!" Fang breathed as he picked the phone up.

"Mom says we can't call incase they get our number and trace it," Max's worried voice came over the phone.

"Crap," he mumbled.

"You call…the number is…" Max started.

"I got it," Fang nodded after the **forth** time it was repeated. Then they went over about how much thy _love_ each other and about the _baby_ and stuff. I couldn't take it, so I left and trotted down the steps to the pay phone.

I dialed the number that was _drilled_ in my mind. _Seven_ annoying rings later a voice picked up, but it **wasn't** Gwen's sweet melodic, nor Kale's deep husky voice. No this was a girl's voice that dripped with _venom_.

"Hello?" It asked. I didn't speak.

"Oh, you're one of the _angel's_, _hmm_? We've got your little friends, want 'em back? _Hmm_?" Now I could tell this chick was messing with me.

"Who are you?!" I screamed.

"Hang up! We're fine! We can take these freaks!" Gwen's voice shouted urgently over the line.

"My name, _hmm_? It's **_Night_**, one you'll remember _forever_. I'm your new worst _enemy_, and I'm _scary_. _Hmm_? So, when shall I see you, _hmm_? We have your comrades. Are you to afraid to fight, _hmm_…_Dylan_?" The voice taunted. My heart hammered against my ribs. I hit the end button and dropped the phone. I threw myself against the wall and took several deep breaths, assuring myself that I wasn't in a dream. As soon as I caught my breath I sprinted to the room. I slung the door open and stared at Fang with big, round eyes.

"They got them!" I yelled. He dropped the phone and stared in shock.

"What's going on?!" Max cried. Her voice was muffled.

I picked up the phone and said one simple sentence, "They have them and we're gonna get 'em back, so stay put!" With that I hung up and grabbed my backpack. The rain still hit the roof in violent splashes, _yet I_ _was ready_. Fang got to his feet and followed.

_Where were we going_? I don't know, but we'd find them. They won't be taken back. _I_ wouldn't let it happen…

**Review! Review! Who's Night? Any comments? _Hmm_? Lol! Review please! Critique is welcome! Which team r u on?! **


	35. Demons With Wings

**Demons With Wings**

Gwen's P.O.V.

The girl threw the phone down and crunched it under her boot. She was far past sixteen, as were most in this stupid group. They all wore dark clothing. Their eyes gleamed red and black or dark brown hair made up true characteristics. I also noticed that they were abnormally _pale_. There were four of the _beasts_. They seemed to be teens, on steroids. The girl glanced at me and smiled wirily.

"Can't you put up a _fair_ fight?" I asked. Three boys held us down.

"You don't fight _fair_," the girl shot back. I bared my teeth and glared at her.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" I asked. She bent down to my level, which was a face full of _dirt_, and laughed.

"My name is Night, _young_ Gwen. These are my _men_," she gestured to the boys holding us down and began to introduce them, "Phantom, Ghost, and Gloom."

"All depressed emos, sounds like to me!" Kale chucked. One pulled a knife.

"Wouldn't it feel so much _better_ to stab _yourself_ with that?" Kale continued.

"Can we _kill_?" Another almost begged.

"_Hmm_? Kill, _hmm_? No, Master wants them _alive_, but I guess we could beat the life out of them in advance, _hmm_? As long as there's still a heart beat," Night pondered. That _hmm_ thing of hers was annoying!

"Let me see HMM?! I'm gonna rip your hide off your bones and roll it around in the cinders of heck, then put you back in it and deprive you of water! Then I'll beat you with a stick like I'm dusting a rug!" I screamed as I thrust myself to my feet, knocking her men to their butts.

"Yah! Then I'm gonna pin you to the ground and repeatedly flash a flashlight in your eyes, causing your pupils to grow and shrink quickly! And I'll laugh!" Kale tried _pathetically_ as he jumped up and tackled the lady. They fell to the ground with a thud and he pulled a mini flashlight out of his pocket and did just as he said. The thing that scared me the most was when Night began _hissing_ and _foaming_ at the mouth.

"The _light_! Get it away! No!" She wailed. That's when the oldest of the boys ran forward and slammed into Kale, sending him off Night.

"Secure _it_ Phantom!" Night ordered.

One of the two left swung a powerful punch. I ducked just in time to miss.

"You stupid things…what are you!" I shouted as I kicked one.

"Dark Angels!" One answered.

"_Demons_ with wings is more like it!" I frowned.

"Gloom! Beat her against the tree and break one of her limbs!" Night barked. No!

"Yes!" The one I guessed was Gloom replied as he latched to my shoulder. The mutant towered above me and its muscles flexed as it heaved me into the air and threw me. Sadly, I hit the tree and all the air left my lungs. I withered to the ground in agony. I had no time to catch my breath before it had me in a choke hold and did as Night said. I counted. Yes, _thirteen_ times. I finally got the strength and freedom to bring my foot up, right into the place where the sun don't shine. He let go and faded back. I brought an elbow down on his bent over back. He was down! I guess Ghost decided to get in on the action. I bolted forward, using Gloom's back as a spring board. I was launched upward and and I spread my wings, wincing from the _pain_, and flapped furiously.

"She wears feathers of _black_, Night!" Phantom pointed out.

"Yes, she most certainly does!" Night gawked in awe.

"Get some!" I cried as I swooped down and forced my feet under me. I missed because Ghost actually ducked. He grabbed my foot and yanked me down.

These creatures are intelligent, nothing like the _Erasers_. They actually got fighting tactics.

Ghost threw me to the ground. My shoulder blades hit first, sending sharp pangs all up my neck. I lifted my arms over my face to defend the blow coming from his heavy foot. It didn't work well. I laid there hurt and in agony. That's when I heard Kale's fighting call.

"Get off her!" He bellowed. My heart jumped in relief as Ghost fell to my side and I was pulled up. My eyes met Kale's in an _awkward_ moment.

"How can two week _children_ defeat us?! To your feet! We must get them under control!" Night ordered, again.

"Go!" Kale whispered. He paused before he shoved me behind him to guard me with every ounce of power he had. The four surrounded us. Kale kept one hand on me, and the other out ahead-ready to punch. That's when we heard the blades cut through the air and the wind picked up.

"That's _Master_!" Night breathed.

"Don't take your eyes of them! They'll run!" She assured. I sighed as the machine landed.

_Jeb_ stepped out and motioned the four to _heel_. They passed him with heads bowed and fell to their knees behind him. This was their _master_? Ha! I crossed my arms and glared forward.

"How's it going, Jeb?" I asked while I rolled my eyes.

"Meet my new, and _improved_ winged experiments," he pointed behind him.

"Do they not have a brain of their own, or they just your _dogs_…like every other being locked behind bars in that retched place. We burned you down once, Jeb, I'll do it again," I said coldly.

"Yes, sure. But until this so called day arrives I'll be the _ruler_ here. And my first request to you is that you lay down and roll over," he smiled and seemed to laugh inside.

"I'm not a _dog_, I won't roll over. I was given wings to fly _free_, it was your _flaw_ Jeb, get with it!" I shouted sternly. Kale shrunk behind me, like usual.

"We won't obey Jeb, we won't stop until our skull is filled with lead and wings are _torn_ from our backs! You can't seem to lose that much. Right now, I'm in _charge_…I'm using you._ Get it_?" I growled.

"And we are ruling with an iron fist, when it comes down the ground shakes, just like you are in your _own_ shoes now," Kale added. It was true, every last word.

"So, either raise a gun or go home," I taunted. He chewed it over.

"_Exterminate_," I heard him whisper to Night. I jumped a little. The four stood and pulled guns that were strapped to their legs.

"Run!" I screamed as loud as I could. I shoved Kale and we took off, through an _open_ field. Lead followed close behind, and so did the footsteps of the enemy.

"What are we going to do?!" Kale questioned out of breath.

"Take to our _element_, it's the _only_ thing we have left!" I panted. His wings unfolded and he stroked them down in a fast rhythm.

"Give me your hand!" He cried.

"I'll only slow you down!" I tried.

"I'm not gonna leave you, this isn't a _cliche_ movie, Gwen!" He growled as he grabbed my arm and hoisted me up. I spread my wings, the pain of a thousand knives stabbing into me came back. I bit my lip, set my sight forward, and tried to fly straight.

I heard the gunshots snap, pop, and bang behind us. So far we hadn't been hit. I was lucky. We were out of reach, but the mutants soon followed with their _dark_ wings copying ours.

"They're gaining!" I panicked.

"I know," Kale grunted as he shifted. I saw _red_ drip from his shirt.

"Kale!" I breathed as my hands flew to his side. It was bad.

"Just a nick, I'll be fine," he dismissed it. I could tell by the way he was holding his breath that it defiantly wasn't _ok_. The Dark Angels were gaining and Kale was falling behind. Terrible visions flashed through my mind.

We could die!

I felt sick, I was worried.

"Don't let go of me! Do you hear?! Don't let go of my hand and everything will be _fine_!" It was the same thing I said years ago, but so far it had been true. His eyes gleamed a bit before they glazed over and all the color flushed from his face. I reached out in front of me, hoping the hand of _mercy_ would latch on and pull me to safety.

_Hoping_…

**Please please REVIEW! Please? **

**I'd like to thank you all for your reviews, making this my most famous story.**

**Secondly, I'd like to add that the ****_Dark Angels and Night_**** belong to '****_my flock_****' so thank ****_my flock _****in your review. **

**Ok, the fun question of the day is… ****_What is your favorite quote, scene, and/or character from the story?_**


	36. I'll Never Let Go

**I'll Never Let Go**

Kale's P.O.V.

It hurt, bad, but I gritted my teeth and kept my mind on one thing. _Gwen_. I had to fly for her 'cause if I dropped she'd come too. She wouldn't leave my body, so I _had_ to keep moving. I could feel Gwen's uneasiness. It just made me push _harder_.

I focused on something, anything to keep my mind off what was going on. Way off in the distance was two _big_ birds. I stared at them, flying in sink. That's when I noticed that they were coming towards us! Then I noticed that one had _black_ wings and the others were _brown_.

"Dylan!" I croaked. Gwen's head whipped forward as her eyes fixed on the two figures. I could feel her relax, but she continued glancing back.

Finally they got to us and slowed. It was awkward because we clashed together and it sent us down a few yards.

"We've to get away! Running is our _only_ chance! Those things are smart and strong," Gwen explained. Fang cracked his knuckles.

"We're stronger," Dylan snorted.

"Uh, no…" I began, but a boom sounded. Another bullet was fired. I saw it whizzing towards me. I had time to shove Gwen out of the way, but for myself it was a different story.

In a split second Dylan had dived, Fang had drifted back, and Gwen smashed into my wings. I felt the bullet hit my face. I yelled and dropped a couple of miles. I felt Gwen's hands wrap around my arm as I furiously swiped blood away.

"The bullet grazed your cheek. Blood is smeared all over your face, but you'll live…I hope," she whispered with a lopsided smile.

"H-hurts bad," I tried to remain strong.

"Looks like it," she nodded. Then her eyes met mine.

"Thanks, Kale," she whimpered.

"For what?" I asked while wiping some more blood away.

"Saving me…"

"I didn't save you, Gwen. It was a _failed_ attempt of a _hug_," I chuckled. Her eyes didn't soften.

"Just take the heroism," she insisted.

"The hero gets the girl, right?"

"No."

Then Dylan and Fang dropped down.

"That's gonna be a _wicked_ scar," Dylan stated.

"Capture them all!" Night's voice rang.

"Lets fly!" I cried.

"Don't let go," Gwen started again.

"I'll _never_ let go," I said sternly, and I meant it.

With that we were off.

We soared at top speed, dove through clouds, even hid in a cave. Only once did they find us in this five hours. Fang and Dylan battled them down into a valley. We were able to swerve around a mountain out of range. Finally we landed for good, making sure that even a pigeon didn't followed, and made camp at the edge of a pond. There Gwen tore my shirt to pieces, making it into bandages. I was shirtless, but alive...and I was still hanging on. We settled in for the night, Gwen tucked under my wing and her back pressed against my side. I felt at peace. _Safe_. The embers in the fire died down and I was left with only the darkness and Gwen's steady breathing. I clutched to her hand, fearing that if mine slipped from her grasp she'd be _taken_. Sleep took me all to soon and I was out like a light, thinking about our new enemies, our mission.

Here's my advice to you if your friends, family, or loved ones are in danger...

_Never let go..._

_**please review!**_


	37. A New Foe

**Ok, so sorry for. It updating fast! I had a choir performance thing at schooo and it was a train wreck! **

**Firstly, the stupid curtain thingie fell down on me! Then we all forgot the words! And this girl was supposed to be interpretive dance and she was rolling on the ground, and I thought she was hurt and embarrassed myself with the stupid question of "Are you ok?!". So yah, it was terrible. It was really hot up on stage and now I've chugged five cokes, so I'll be up late. Anyway! Here's the chapper!**

**A New Foe**

**Unknown P.O.V.**

"Will you do it?" He asked me. My head whipped up as I shot him a grim smirk and leaned back in my chair.

"You give me a reason to fight, to live…you give me wing on my back…and I'll go…" I said, my voice cold as ice.

"That can be arranged," he nodded slowly.

"And what is exactly is my mission?" I questioned warily.

"To make an attack on Maximum Ride, from the ground. We've pinpointed their mansion, not over a hundred mile radius from here. You, and a group of four, will use stealth and speed in order to conquer our foe. You will have to fight dirty, but with our element of surprise and four of the main fighters gone we have a good chance. Don't blow it," the Asian man explained.

"Maximum? As in the most _powerful_ being created?!" I snapped.

He nodded gravely and I threw my hands in the air, beginning to freak out.

"But she isn't in top form. She's carrying a very important piece of _technology_," he held up a finger. I listened intently.

"A baby? Is that it? You want a _baby_?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Precisely," he grinned and put his hands in his pockets.

"And about this group…?" I began. He pulled a remote from the pocket of his bleached white coat and pointed it at a white screen. A PowerPoint began.

The first image was of a boy.

"His name is Bigfoot," the guy began.

My eyes scanned the screen. His heart beat, age, weight, height, and even his appearance was listed.

"He's tall and big," I stated, staring at the bulky shoulders and muscled arms. He was six foot eight.

"He's part ape and elephant. He's strong and durable, a great _piece_ in your little puzzle and team."

_Piece_? I snorted.

"I get _one_ person?" I asked with folded arms, feeling very doubtful of this.

"No," he laughed as he pressed the remote again and a new picture flipped up.

"This is Macto, macto means _fight_ in French, and he's part Eurasian Lynx. He's very good with hunting and tracking."

The boy's hair was brown and his eyes were golden brown. Two fuzzy ears stuck out, each rimmed in black and pointed on the ends.

"Looks cool," I agreed as he showed the next member.

"Palomino, she's very thin, but muscular," he gestured at her. My eyes searched over the picture repeatedly.

Her hair was pure white, not like an old persons, but long and curly. Her skin was tanned and she stared forward with a stare that said '_just try to catch me!_'. Her chocolate brown eyes were big and observant, like watching for the next move.

"She's a skittish creature, always speeding away sure footed, never once failing to dance over any surface with elegance."

"Is that it?" I asked.

"No, there's one more, Altsoba, he'a very quiet and silent. He's mixed with all sorts of antelope and deer. He's Native American," the man beamed at me as I stared at the screen.

Altsoba looked a lot like his heritage. Black hair, dark eyes and all the features. The kid looked strong.

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"What?"

"Altsoba, what does it mean?"

"Oh, in Navajo it means _**'**all war; all are at war_'."

"Sweet," I sighed and thought over my new group.

"You shall lead them," he stated.

"What?" I snapped out of my little state of _'I'm so confused_'.

"_The Herd_, you'll lead them," he said again. My eyes met his.

"Me? I'm honored," I breathed.

"You earned it, Ox," he said as he patted my shoulder. That's the first time he didn't call me experiment O-30976-x291.

"Thanks…master," I said humbly.

"Call me Mr. Chu," he smiled. _Chu_? Alright.

He opened the door and I slowly walked out. I knew it was time to return to my cell. The Erasers guarded every hallway. As I turned my corner I heard someone scream. All the Erasers who had been making sure I made it back sprinted towards the sound, so I followed.

I rounded a corner in time to see a pair of light blue wings snap out and beat down. There came my friend, Jay, over the beasts' heads. I watched in awe as he landed.

"Don't do this Ox! Ride is a _friend_! She's like us! They're gonna kill her, Ox!" He screamed. What?! Then I heard the Erasers shout and yelp and a gun was raised. Jay stared into my eyes pleadingly. He was an avian, of coarse. Usually us winged experiments stick together, fought for each other, but I had just turned to another path. Maybe it was the cow or oxen in me, maybe that's why I turned the other cheek as I saw my usual enemy, the lupine, pull the trigger. That's why a tear didn't fall when Jay fell to my feet. His bluejay wings falling down limply with him.

"I have power now, Jay. I no longer have to be _afraid_," I whispered.

"Weak," came his reply as he lost all of his strength and died. Just like that, in a snap, he was gone, dead and gone.

"Says the boy laying on the floor, dead from a single bullet. A pinch of lead," I sneered as I turned my back on him. The Erasers collected his body. We were _good_ friends, everyday of my life I was with him-talking and _laughing_.

But Jay was something different. I was a _survivor_. He was merely a boy stuck in loyalty to something that would _never_ come.

Call me cruel, harsh, but who's still breathing?

"There's more to life than just breathing. If you consider living to be a beating heart, then you're just a shell that doesn't go deeper than the skin," a girl's voice echoed. I then noticed that I had been talking out loud. I spun around in a 180 just to see a girl with white hair standing there with her hands on her hips. My lips parted, I was about to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"Are you Palomino?" I questioned.

"Yes, Ox," how did she know my name?

"Back to your cells!" an Eraser ordered. I started running.

"Hey!" Palomino called, it sounded a lot like a _whinny_. I ignored her and ran harder, the Eraser was still screaming.

"Yes! That's what you eat!" I laughed. Then I heard her heavy footfall beat fast against the title and within seconds she was by my side.

"Can't I get away from you?!" I groaned.

"You're stall is _across_ from mine," she rolled he eyes.

"Just shut up," I ordered as I came to my stall. Yes, _stall_. It was surrounded in glass, covered in hay, and locked off. I put my hand on the scanner and it beeped, flashing 'Approved'. The door slid open and I stepped in. It closed quickly behind me and I stood there amazed. All of my training had gotten me here. I was now a leader. I looked to my right and there was blood smeared all over the glass, all over the straw. I remembered the kid who used to be there. He was foolish, and a rebel. I looked to my left, the stall was empty. That's where _Jay_ was at once. And in front of me was the horse girl. She looked at me and shook her head and pointed to the stall to my right again. I glanced back over. There was nothing there that didn't make me sick. I looked back at the girl.

She traced her finger on the door, then she lipped out "Message". _She_ had a message? No. I stared in awe to my right, for on the far wall of the dead child's cage was apoem written in crimson.

'_I have Courage, this I do,_

_I have meaning, why not you?_

_I have dreams of peaceful sleep,_

_I have things I'd wish to keep._

_I have Courage, this I do,_

_I have a reason, do you?'_

Hmm? Maybe? The words would forever be stained in my mind.

_My reason_?

I glanced back to Palomino. A tear streamed down her cheek.

"Whimp," I chuckled as I leaned back against the back wall.

Killing Ride would give me _freedom_.

There! That's what I wanted! **Freedom**…

**And yes. That whole chapter was to confuse you, but all will be explained in good time! Now, please review! I'mgap extremely happy to have my 9 favs&follows! Also, the 81 reviews are the best, by far! So, please review and another chapter will be updated quickly!**


	38. Meet the Parent(s)

**Finally, We Meet The Parent(s)**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"We're almost there, we're on the main highway," I told Fang, who had sunken deep into his silence.

"So what do we say about, uh, Dylan 2 here?" Kale asked. Oh, right.

"Uh, maybe if we just pretend likes its really him then everything will be fine? We'll just say he's in awe or shock," I tried. Dylan nodded.

"I still have no shirt," Kale frowned.

"Why didn't you pack an _extra_ one?" I sighed.

"I never said I was _good_ at packing," he rolled his big brown eyes. Dylan passed him one of his extras.

"Ok, now if my memory serves me right we turn here, right Kale?" I traced a tiny road branching off the highway with my finger.

"I don't know, I've never seen it from the _air_ before," he shrugged.

"We're following it," I had to make that decision.

"Is this how they get _Google Earth_ pictures?" Kale asked. I slapped him over the head.

"That's satellites, stupid," I grumbled.

"Hateful," he frowned as he rubbed his head.

"Lets start descending, _gradually_," I ordered. Freaking Kale just decided to tuck in his darn wings and plummet.

"I said GRADUALLY!" I screamed at him. He caught himself in time and drifted back up. As I glided down and got closer I noticed something, my house wasn't there. It was cleared and only a _vacant_ lot covered in dust remained in its place. My feet tapped down on the sidewalk. Kale and the other two followed.

"Your house is gone," Kale stated.

I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to see my mom and siblings, but at least Kale would. He was shaking.

"Go on. It'll be fine. I'm right behind you," I cooed as I pushed him forward. We crossed the street and came to their door.

"I'm gonna knock," he breathed.

"Go on," I whispered. He knocked ever so softly. We just stood there, waiting. Then I heard a voice and some footsteps. The door opened and there stood Kale's mom.

Her blond hair was draped over her shoulders and a pair of Caribbean blue eyes shone.

"Can I help you…?" She asked. Then her eyes scanned over us and she saw Kale and Dylan. Her eyes widened and she jumped a little

"Dylan?! Kale?!" She screamed. Kale smiled. His mom wrapped him and Dylan in a hug.

"Boys! Oh, you've come home! Where did you go?" She was sobbing.

"Sh, we're fine, Ma. We're fine…" Kale assured.

"You're home! You're _home_," she repeated. She stood there and literally hugged them for _five_ minuets, making Dylan awkwardly uncomfortable. Finally she let go and started kissing them on the forehead.

"Where have you been?" She questioned.

"A far way away," Dylan answered. She wiped tears away and turned to me and Fang. Her eyes landed on me.

"Gwen Orksmith?" Her voice was faint, like she wasn't sure.

I only nodded. Then I was hugged.

"W-What happened to my house and my family?" I questioned. She stepped back and frowned.

"Come inside," she gestured to the door. We followed her in.

"Want anything to eat or drink?" She asked. We didn't say anything so she sat down in between Kale and Dylan on the couch, across from me and Fang on the opposite sofa.

"We have so much to catch up on…" at least the woman was trying to speak. Her gaze drifted to Fang.

"Oh, this is F-Zachary," I stuttered.

"Your brother?!" She cried. I nodded, taken away by the fact that she remembered.

"At least…at least you found him," she tried to get out.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Gwen, dear, your mother, as you already know, was struggling. The day we lost you three we waited for _weeks_. Once we found that, that you all were gone w-we tried to go on with life, but driving past that bloodstain next to the bus stop everyday was the hardest thing we ever did. The police implied that you all had been kidnapped. They searched for years. Gwen, your mom went into a state of shock. She…she did nothing but lay in bed all day. She didn't go to work, she didn't eat, she didn't speak to Carl and Sylvia. _Depressed_ was the word. On the second year of your disappearance she had given up completely. I went over to feed her, and do the chores for the little ones. One day she told me that she couldn't go on loosing _two_ children. She said that she wasn't made to be a mother and that Carl as Sylvia would die just like her older two. It made my heart weep. One day I went over to do my regular routine. There was nothing going on. The house was silent. The kids had gone to school. I went to her bedroom and found her laying there, what I thought, asleep. Two years and eleven days after your mysterious leaving I found her…" then she began to cry again. Kale hugged his mother as I waited on the edge of my seat for the ending.

"I-I'm s-sorry G-Gwen. Y-You're mother** d-died**!"

All the color drained from my face. _I_ went into a state of shock, my eyes turned blank as they stared forward at nothing. All the sound left and it was just me sitting there in the dark.

_My mother died?!_

"Gwen. Gwen! C'mon!" The voice was distant. The pain in my heart overpowered it.

"Wake up Gwen!" Fang shouted/ordered. I blinked and shook my head.

Kale's mom, I think her name was Trisha, was still balling her eyes out. My first priority came flooding back.

"Where's Carl and Sylvia?" I asked with a quavering voice.

It was silent for a few seconds before she answered.

"We adopted Sylvia. She lives here with _us_ now. We tried to get Carl, but it took six months to get Sylvia and he was already spoken for," Trisha whimpered. I remained tense. Sylvia was safe…but Carl…

"Do you know who adopted him?" Fang asked. Trisha jumped at the sound of Fang's voice.

"Y-Yes. Let me go get the paper," she nodded as she got to her feet and quickly ran to another room in the house.

"Gwen…" Kale began.

"I'm fine," I snapped. He bit his lip and the expression 'I-need-to-comfort-you' washed over his face.

"I'm fine Kale!" I cried as I tried to keep the tears out of my eyes.

"Here it is," Trisha came back in and passed us a paper. It had all of Carl's information on there, then at the bottom was a signature.

_Bridget Batchelder_

…

"She, uh, apparently got to him before I could," she continued.

"Can you tell us everything out of the ordinary that you noticed after we were taken?" Dylan asked.

"Sure…" she thought it over.

"There were always these weird _model men_ hanging around wearing dark glasses. Once, I found a earring in my flower bed. And when I found Beth, dead, there was a syringe in her neck and it looked life she had been cutting herself. I called the police, but the scientist people came first. The model men surrounded the house as the scientists checked the place out. They _never_ figured out what was in that syringe. They took the little ones blood for some reason. That's all I know of," she explained. All the pieces clicked together.

My mom didn't die from grief. The House of Despair knew that they were gonna _kill_ her. The _model men_ were Erasers. The cut marks on her arms were claw marks and the syringe was a substance put there by the Whitecoat scientists. They took Carl's and Sylvia's blood to see if it matched mine and Fang's. My mom was murdered and Carl was taken to THOD! The others, excluding _Kale_, figured this out.

"Hmm? An earring in the flowers? That is weird!" He exclaimed. His mom nodded._ Like mother like son…_

"I-I'm gonna step out for a second," I said as I headed to the door. The three winged people shot me a funny look. I hurried out the door, closing it behind me. I leaned back on it and sighed as I slid down to sit. The tears now seeped from my eyes.

"Where's dad?" Kale asked.

"He's gone on business and Sylvia is at school," I heard Trisha explain.

Then they started talking about normal stuff and catching up on their lives while they were gone. You know, stuff like Dylan's girlfriend cried for days after he was gone and now she lives across town and is in some collage. I never heard Fang say a word.

I couldn't stop crying and I scolded myself saying I was stronger than this. I always had that feeling in my soul that she could be gone. I knew that she'd go into a state of depression. Now I had to go find Carl. At least Sylvia was safe. I collected myself and went back in.

"So where have you all been?" There came that stupid question for the _fiftieth_ time!

"We were kidnapped," I said bluntly. Everyone's head whipped around. Apparently they didn't know that I had come back in.

"Who? Where? _What_?!" Trisha needed the answers.

"We were taken from the bus stop by a group of your model men. They kidnapped us and took us to this laboratory where they preformed scientific investigations on _humans_, on _children_. There's some pretty nasty stuff happened and we were _enhanced_. We were there until only a few months ago, when we were purchased and brought to the home of Max and the Famous _Bird_-Kids," I said.

"Bird kids?! Like the ones on the news?! What do you mean _enhanced_?! _Purchased_, like in an auction?! Where was this place! We can sue them and…" gosh she was worse than Nudge.

"Maybe it's better if we show you," I tried. She went quiet. I took a deep breath a rolled my shoulders. I could feel my feathers ruffling. My wings spread and flapped once. Trisha's eyes got as big as saucers as she screamed bloody murder and pointed at my wings.

"Y-You have wings!" She cried. I nodded. Dylan stood and copied me, along with Fang. Trisha clutched tight to Kale. I was afraid she'd hyperventilate.

"D-do you _all_ have them?!" She asked as she felt for wings on Kale.

"Yes," I mumbled.

"Oh gosh! This is what they did to you?! We should…we should shut them down!" She yelled. I shook my head.

"No, Ma. We can't. Listen, you have to be quiet about this," Kale said. She trembled in his arms.

She stared at him in disbelief.

"The people who did this to us killed my mom. They'll kill you if you speak or if you know _to_ much. Just stay quiet and tell no one. Not even dad…" Kale continued. She nodded grimly.

"We have to go," I said sternly.

"So soon?!" She wailed. Kale hugged her again.

"Let me get you all something to eat!" She rushed away to the kitchen.

"Do we _have_ to go?" Kale almost begged.

"Yah. I feel like we're falling into a trap. We need to get home. We could've just risked her life. And Carl is still out there, somewhere. I'm sorry Kale," I whispered. Trisha came back in with a bag full of chips and sandwiches. She handed it to me and passed everyone a water bottle.

"Will I ever see you again?" She asked Kale and Dylan.

"Yah, Ma," Dylan smiled as she hugged him goodbye. They said their goodbyes. Fang went to the door. I stood there watching the touching scene. It was time to go, and they passed me. I turned to follow when a hand caught my arm. I jumped.

"Take care of my boys," Trisha ordered.

"I'm _trying_," I chuckled. Then we spread our wings and Trisha watched with amazement as we flew off. I saw a tear leek from Kale's eyes.

"It's gonna be ok," I assured as I grabbed his hand. He looked up at me with sad, pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry about…" he began.

"Shh, I'm fine. We need to get home and rebuild. Then I can look for Carl," I changed the subject.

"Why would Dwyer sign _Batchelder_?" Fang asked. I shrugged.

_Everything's a freaking mystery …_

**Review! Gwen's mom DEAD, any comments? REVIEW! I love those of you who review we very chapter. That's really really awesome! **

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	39. Strategy Plan

**Strategy**

Flair's P.O.V.

I never thought life could be _boring_.

One word to describe my emotion at this second: BORED!

Without Gwen, and without a mission, I was nothing if not _normal_.

"Ok! So if I put Celeste here then…" Gazzy explained.

"Don't blow up the stupid bear!" Melee warned.

"Why?" Jes asked.

"Do you want a ten year old mind reader after you?! No. Don't touch the bear," I said sternly. They groaned and began to rebuild their plan, using a pillow instead.

"Ok, so I have a stack of _46_ cards, where's the others?" Ryan asked as he laid the _'poker_' cards down.

"I burn things, I don't find them," I chuckled.

"Do you have any purple?" Ice asked. I remembered my game of _go fish,_ on index cards that were colored by Jes himself.

"We only have red, blue, and yellow," I sighed.

"I know! Do you have a red _and_ blue, that would make purple _stupid_!" He growled. We had been cooped up for way to long.

"It doesn't work that way," I sighed.

"Show me your cards!" He ordered.

"I ran out two tries ago," I mumbled.

"Oh…well…I need to see _something_…" he shot me a smile and winked.

"How about my flaming _fist_!?" I cried as I jumped to my feet. He laughed.

"My soda is _warm_," Jes frowned. Ice grabbed hold of it and it instantly froze into a solid block.

"Flair!" Jes wailed.

"Ice! The poor kid just wanted a drink of Coke," I rolled my eyes as Jes yanked it from the bully's hand and ran it over to me. I melted it back.

"You all are disgusting," Crenshaw stared as she stared at Ebony and Storm. They were making out.

"Hands, and lips to yourself!" Nudge ordered as she threw a crumbled piece of paper at them. Ebony caught it and tossed it away.

"I got this," I grinned as I threw a quilt over their heads. Finally they stopped.

"Jerk!" They both screamed as they threw it off.

"Shh! You're gonna wake them up!" Gazzy tried. We glanced over to the couch. Jace and Alex were asleep, _cuddling together_.

"Aww! It's _sweet_!" Nudge squealed as she pulled a camera off the shelf.

"Ok, everyone get ready…" Jes said. We all waited with anticipation. The Gasman pulled the lever and the rope loosened. A bucket of water hung over Jace tipped and it came pouring down on his pants. They both woke up, Alex hissed at the water.

"You peed yourself?!" She screeched.

"Oh gawd," he moaned. Then the rope traveled down the wall to another lever. It jerked up and the pillow was catapulted forward, hitting Alex and Jace in the back of the head. Then it blew up and stuffing flew _everywhere_.

Alex rolled off the couch and clawed away from Jace. The bucket swung down and he sighed in relief.

"It's just _water_," He cheered. Alex didn't talk to him for a few minuets and we certainly didn't, considering we were _laughing_ so hard our sides could've split.

"I wish it'd stop raining. …Storm! You can fix this!" I got an idea.

"Nope. I looooove the rain," he smiled. Idiot.

"I'm so bored!" I yelled. Ella stormed in, her arms crossed.

"Be quiet! Max is sleeping, Iggy is _trying_ to, and Mom is having a day off from you brats!" She scolded.

"Brats?!" I yelled. Ella nodded.

"Hateful," Jes whispered as Ella slammed the door behind herself.

"Lets play Strategy again!" Alex suggested as she made her way to us.

"No! Don't you all have anything normal to do?" Nudge frowned. She stood to follow Ella.

"Yah, we don't have to worry about the School, or Erasers, anymore," Gazzy added.

"C'mon, Fred," Jes whined.

"It's sick to think about," the Gasman continued. And just like that only the Migration was left in the room.

"Alright, what is _this_ plan on?" Ice asked.

"Anything," Storm grinned.

"What's it called?" Jes asked as he leaned closer.

"Project X," Ryan tried. We voted and agreed.

"Alright," I nodded, "were do we start?"

"Flair, Ice, and I should be the offense _and_ defensive," Storm started.

"And the rest of us are…?" Ebony scooted closer to Storm.

"So this is what I had in mind!" Storm rubbed his hands together,"Lets say that the house was ambushed. Flair, you'd run outside and start burning the Erasers to ash. Ice could freeze them. I could keep up a field with water to keep them out. Ebony, you'd be in charge of getting the younger ones to safety. Alex and Jace are in charge of Jes. Melee and Ryan take the rear. Our main objective is to get _our_ group to safety. Ebony, you run ahead leading them. Run for the woods behind the house. The old cliff can be our meet-up place. Hide and stay low until someone comes for you. Got it?"

"What about the Flock?" I asked. His eyes shot to me.

"The Migration comes first, _always_," Storm said sternly. Well that was cold.

"Dylan is gonna be so proud when he hears!" Ebony grinned.

A knock came from the door. I jumped.

"I'll get it!" I heard Angel call from below.

"That wasn't the _secret_ knock!" I breathed. We had a knock for when it was one of _us_ at the door.

Within seconds we heard gunshots.

"What's going on?!" I heard Max cry.

"Move Migration! **Move**!" Storm ordered.

_This. Could. Not. Be. Happening._

**please review! This is my most successful story because of you guys! (Yes I'm looking at you dear reader!) please continue to review! I promise I won't give up on you of you don't give up on me. Thanks to all of you!**

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	40. Project X

**Project X**

Alex's P.O.V.

I was always a _mother_ to my group when it was just us. I was the only feminine figure, except for Melee who was usually locked in her room.

When I heard the gunshots I grabbed Jes and followed my sister to a window. Ryan flung it open.

"PRJECT X! PROJECT X!" Storm reminded. I felt Jace close to my side.

"Hurry!" Ice called. Storm, Ice, and Flair flew to the front of the house as the rest of us fled for the woods.

"Don't leave me," Jace begged.

"I'm not gonna," I assured as I spread my wings.

"I-I _love_ you Alex," he whispered.

Then it was us, soaring away. I followed Ebony and Crenshaw and Ryan weren't far behind.

"Pick up the pace!" Ryan yelled. I flapped harder. Jes flew a few feet below, and Jace was to my right.

"C'mon boys!" I coached.

Jace passed me. I'm a bad flyer, I mean _really_ bad. Like to the point where landing is _crashing_ and trying to gain altitude makes me _drop_ a few yards. Even Jes flies faster than me.

"Come on, _bunny_," Jace called. Yes, bunny. It's a new nickname I've adopted because I LOVE rabbits. Love them.

"Im trying!" I panted. Then I heard the sound of wings, lots of them, and I looked over my shoulder to see six bird kids and three dozen Erasers following in pursuit. They caught up fast and I couldn't fight them off. My wings were banded and I struggled against the mutant holding me. Big mistake. I plummeted to the rocky ground below.

I gasped and my arms reached up, _hoping_ someone would grab my hand. My red hair was blown upward and I could see it flapping in the wind.

"ALEX!" I heard Jace cry. Then something grabbed my wrist and my sudden drop slowed. I was eased to the ground.

As my gaze drifted up to the being towering over me I gawked.

"Winters?!" I squeaked.

"Come on, bun, we gotta go!" He said, searching the surroundings for oncoming danger.

I was pulled to my feet, my hand still clasped firmly in his. I pushed some stray hairs behind my ear. He pulled the band off.

"T-Thanks," I whispered.

"Guys!" I heard Jes scream.

"Dude! Where are you?!" Jace asked.

Then a blood curdling scream echoed off the trees. My heart stopped.

"Let me go!" I heard the seven year old's voice wail. Jace's grip tightened. I was frozen. I never was good with action. They had my baby. My little goofy Jes!

"Come on Alex! Snap out of it! Gosh! I can't loose you too!" Winters waved a hand in front of my face.

"If they _hurt_ him in anyway, if they _touch_ him, those b***** will pay!" I growled. And we started sprinting blindly through the woods, hurdling stumps and wading through creeks.

"Jes!" We both called at the top of our lungs.

_No answer_.

We came to an open area. As we emerged out of the brush, arms pumping legs flying, I heard something click

A gun.

I saw something swing, and Jace's hand slipped from mine. I heard him groan and the next thing I knew I was laying on the ground next to him staring up at a snarling beast.

A scream left my mouth and the Eraser decided to beat the crap out of me.

"Stop!" Jace ordered as it picked me up and threw me to the ground. I hit with a thud. I could feel claws rake down my wings, but then Jace pulled me to his chest and his wings enveloped us. He was practically _indestructible_. I trembled and some tears fell. He held me tight and for the second I felt _safe_. That was until they took the barrel of their rifles and pried us apart. The Eraser proceeded to land several swift kicks on my side.

"Hey idiots!" I heard Ryan shout. All heads whipped that way.

Melee stood there, ready for action. Ryan had his arms crossed. The ground shook and rocks flew in all directions. A tree fell and swiped side to side, taking Erasers away.

We crawled and hid behind a pile of leaves.

Melee used her telekinesis, yah she has awesome powers, to bend and break guns. She beat the enemy over the head with them. Finally they retreated, or began to.

I heard a crack, and I saw a shadow dance across us. I looked up and spotted about a hundred pounds of lumber come crashing down.

"Whaaaa!" I yelled. Jace grabbed me around the waist and jumped forward, out of the leaves, bringing us diving into the heat of action. I hit first, my knees coming down with a thud. He wasn't far behind me. I grabbed his shoulders and thrust him down, throwing myself flat against the dust as the giant tree swept over like a giant arm smacking the Erasers back. _Melee_ had almost killed us!

"Watch out!" I coughed. The next thing I knew a boy had jerked me to my feet. His black, short hair was tossed wildly across his head. He was big and burly. He had me by the collar of my shirt and stared into my soul.

"Tell me, _Flair_. Where's your friends?" The boy asked slyly.

Flair? Ha, in his _dreams_.

"I'm _Alex_!" I grinned as I swiped my tail to the side, wrapping it around his wrist. I yanked my tail, pulling one of his hands away. I squirmed free, but he had other plans. He tripped me and placed a foot on my chest.

"You worthless piece of trash! Where is your sister?!" He growled.

"Well, Mr. Demanding, she's in the _sky,"_ I wheezed.

"The names Ox," he smiled grimly as he eased off.

"I'm gonna _plow_ you!" Jace threatened. Then a flash flew into Ox. Oh, the _irony_!

An Eraser pulled Jace off Ox.

"Shall we de-wing him?" The beast asked. Ox nodded.

"No!" I screeched.

I saw a piece of sharpened wood shoot forward and stab into the Eraser's skull. Jace dropped and rolled. His dark chocolate brown eyes met mine, and for a second I saw a spark of determination as he pushed himself to his feet. Melee had redeemed herself. We went back to back. My fists were raised, even though I had _no_ idea how to fight. Jace whacked a mutant repeatedly with his wing while I stood there like a moron.

"Guys! Watch out!" Ryan warned. My eyes widened in surprise. An Eraser raised a gun and fired. Then all of the sudden the earth raised. _Ryan_.

"The Chief! Grab him!" A voice barked.

"Jace," I whispered.

He put his finger to his lips. The woods fell _silent_. We couldn't see past the wall of dirt and rock.

"What's going on?" I asked. He shook his head.

Then a boom erupted and the wall broke into crumbles. We were hit by chunks of debris, sending us to the ground.

I couldn't hear anything, well except for an annoying _ringing_ noise. Jace was laying on my arm. His eyes were closed and blood was smeared down the right side of his face. I sat up and cradled him, laying his head in my lap.

"Jace!" I yelled desperately. Tears dripped from my eyes.

_What just happened?_

I stood slowly, my knees shaking, and drug Jace to the base of a tree. Everything was covered in a cloud of black smoke.

"Good job, Gaz, but I think you did it a little to soon," I heard Ryan say somewhere far away.

I heard a cough and I glanced down to see Jace, eyes open, hacking and sneezing.

"Jace," I sighed in relief. I sat down and pushed him up.

"Thanks," he said hoarsely. A figure came out of the smoke. I hid behind Jace.

"Coward!" It sneered. I began to worry. Then the smoke was carried away in the wind and Crenshaw was left standing there, hands on hips.

"Melee!" I cheered.

"Shut up. Stand up," (**A/N: i laughed so hard when i wrote this. Its my favorite quote from this story**) she said sternly as she turned to walk away.

I got up and reached down for Jace's hand.

"I got it," he grunted as he leaned on the tree for support. He finally got to his feet.

"See!" He smiled. Then he fell sideways and I barely had enough time to catch him. I threw one of his arms over my shoulder.

"Some times in our lives we all have pain. We all have sorrow, but…if we are wise…we know that there's always tomorrow!" He sang.

"Lean on me…when you're not strong! I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on…for it won't be long 'till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on!" I grinned.

And we broke into song, singing _Lean On Me. (_**A/N: look up the song and listen to it)**

He smiled and laughed. I knew he was hurt. I knew he was in deep pain, but I also knew that he would never show it. _Never_. That's Jace for ya!

"They have Jes," I told the group once we had caught up to them. Ryan's face fell.

"Stole him right out of the sky," I continued.

"We have to catch up to Ebony," Gazzy stated.

"How did you get here?" Jace questioned.

"I followed you all. I dropped a bomb and BOOM!" He explained…_briefly_.

"Lets go!" Ryan rubbed his hands together.

"How's the house? Max? Nudge, Iggy, and Angel? The Humans?" I asked. Chills ran down my spine.

"I'll get you all safe, then I'll check," Ryan frowned.

_Please let them be ok…_

**Ok! Please review! Please!**


	41. Lower Hand

**Lower Hand**

Flair's P.O.V.

"Move!" Storm yelled, again. I swear I if hear that word one more time…

"Duck, Flair!" Ice ordered. I dropped to the ground, barely missing a rein of bullets.

"Get behind me!" I shouted as I shot a streak of fire. A hand was laid on my left shoulder. _Ice_. Another was laid on my right. _Storm_.

I released a field of blue fire. The flames caught the enemy by surprise, knocking out their front line.

"Come on!" A boy growled. He was huge! A girl with white hair and tan skin stood behind him. Another male stuck out. He had darker hair and dark eyes. And last, but not least, was a boy with two fuzzy ears.

"Who are you?!" Ice snarled.

"The Herd, our leader is out right now chasing your friends. And yes, you should be _afraid_," the big guy said in a deep demonic voice.

"Should've, could've, would've…" Ice smiled grimly.

"Ha, I admire your sarcasm, but now the time has come for me to see you drown in the blood of your people," and with that threat from the giant the group charged. I let loose another blast of fire. They seemed to dodge and duck, keeping from my dangerous flames.

"Flair! Ice! Help! The Humans! Max!" Nudge cried frantically. I glanced back to see her being beaten by an Eraser. Ella was being tied and thrown. Dr. M was screaming desperately for help. For someone to get Ella. Max was forced to the ground. Jim was out cold, wearing several battle scars. Susan was no where in sight.

"Hold on! Hold on!" I shouted. My hand wrapped around Ice's wrist as I pushed myself into the air. My wings spread to full length.

_"Come on_!" I urged Ice.

"You go! I'll take out the oncoming…" he started.

"You can't take them _alone_," I stated. Eventually he complied and we hurried to the aid of the others.

"I got Max! You grab Ella!" I ordered. He gave me a swift nod. I dropped from the sky, onto the shoulders of the Eraser _securing_ Max. It yelped in surprise as I boxed it's ears and pressure pointed it. The mutant fell over, dead, after a quick snap of the neck. I pulled Max up.

"I hope that didn't hurt the baby," she whimpered.

"Go to the cliff. I'll cover you," I whispered.

"But the Flock! And my Mom and sister…" she resisted.

"I've got them! That's a guarantee! Go!" I said sternly. She flew up, me right behind her. I followed until she went into the dense woods. She was safe. Now to _finish_ this…

Something hit me.

A _person_.

"Who are you?!" I screeched staring at the black haired, bulky figure flapping his wings in unison to mine.

"Ox," he said simply.

"Friend or _Foe_?" I asked, raising a fist.

"Foe, Flair…" he smiled. I reared back and let him have it. My punch connected with his jaw, sending blood and a tooth flying. Yah, I didn't let him finish.

"Stupid. Moron! Leave my family alone!" I yelled. This guy was an a******!

"Aww, where's your _hospitality_?" He asked, with a grin after his little joke.

"It's up your a**, you know… where your head is going!" I growled. His smile fell and I was left throwing right hooks.

I finally got myself tired and I drifted back from him. I heard an ear piercing cry and I turned that way. There lay Angel, head in the dirt, close to death.

"Oh please no…" my voice gave out half way through. I dove, corkscrewing the whole way down.

"_Angel_!" I called. No answer.

I landed and fell to my knees, scooping up the child's body. She was bloody and bruised. The kid had been alive for a decade, yet she had seen and heard more than most adults could have managed. Her pulse was slow, but steady. I threw her over my shoulder and ran, as fast as I could, to the house, with only a couple of beasts shooting at me. I only had one place to put her. I hid her in the _house_, hoping to keep her safe.

"It's gonna be ok," I assured even this I knew she couldn't hear me.

"Come out Ultimate!" A voice commanded. There stood The Herd, fists raised ready to pounce.

"I'm getting sick and tired of you _freaks_!" I screamed as I released a wave of flames. The group seemed to back off. I wasn't done, no, not by a long shot.

"Come on! Hit me with your best shot!" I taunted as another ball of blue fire formed in my hand.

"Fire away!_ I dare you_!" Ice landed to my right.

"Where's El?" I whispered out of the side of my mouth.

"Dropped her off with Iggy," he mumbled.

My fists clenched, but no one moved. I could hear my breaths coming in short pants and my heart pounded against my ribcage. It was a stand off, and we had the _lower hand._

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	42. Warriors Unite

**Warriors Unite**

Gwen's P.O.V.

We were nearing the house. Flying over the forest below, I glanced down. Something wasn't right.

"What's that?" Dylan pointed downward. I strained my eyes, but I didn't see anything.

"I don't see nothin'…" Kale frowned. Dylan's mouth flew open and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

"There's a war going on!" Is all he'd scream before his wings tucked flat to his back. I followed and as I neared the ground I spotted Ryan, Crenshaw, Jace, Gazzy, and Alex.

When I landed in front of them they looked up in shock, dismay, tiredness.

"Guys! What happened?!" I screamed as I raced forward to check Jace. He was bleeding...a lot.

"We've been attacked! Ebony, Alex, Jace, Melee, and me ran to the cliff. Jes came to, but the Erasers and some emo freaks caught him. They're holding him captive. Gazzy here just blew some of the beasts up. He narrowly escaped the mansion," Ryan began.

"Flair. Where is Flair?" I asked. His eyes met mine.

"Ice, Storm, and Flair stayed behind to fight, Storm ordered us to leave. They said they'd come, but it doesn't look like it. Iggy, Nudge, Max, Angel, and the Humans are still there. Gwen, we don't know what to do," Ryan said. A tear slipped from his eye. My gaze shot to Dylan and Fang, who had just landed.

"What are we gonna…?" I started, but they both cut me off.

"I'm going for Max," they said in unison.

"Jace is to weak to go into battle again! They all are! And Jes!" I explained.

"Gwen, Max and the others are out there _stranded_," Fang stated.

"So are we!" Alex frowned.

"We're going to the house Gwen," Dylan nodded.

"And what about them?!" I cried gesturing to the wounded._ The Migration_, "You have a duty to them! You are the leader and the majority needs you now! Tell us where to go!"

"Gwen, help me. You have to lead them. Get them safe. I have to save the others," Dylan whispered. With that he was off, Fang going with him. I was left there, standing in awe, that is until Kale poked me.

"Uh… ok lets get to the cliff side," I tried. Everyone spread their wings and was ready to fly, well except Jace.

"Ryan! Kale! Help Jace!" I ordered. The two boys shot the other a glare.

"Boys!" I barked. They moved quickly and we made haste to the cliff. There some jagged rocks stuck out and a cave was implanted right in the middle. Here we landed and caught our breath, but a shrill, "Guys!" took it away again. I jumped and turned, slightly startled, to see Ebony standing there.

"Oh, man you scared the heck out of me…" I breathed.

"Sorry," she smiled.

"Crap! This hurts!" Jace grunted as he slid down the rock wall he had been leaning on. He came to a rest on the hard ground. Alex rushed to his side.

"Ebs? Did Dr. M teach you anything?" I asked out of the side of my mouth. She nodded grimly and started to work.

"What are we gonna do?! Jes is kidnapped, there's a freaking battle going on at the mansion, and we're stranded unknowing of what to do with _no_ l_eader_!" Ryan flipped.

"Calm down. Slow breaths. We're gonna be fine. This is the time where we start making smart decisions," I said quietly as I stared him in the eye. He stood still.

"What is the most _logical_ thing to do? Let the survivor inside pick, not the emotions," I mumbled as I hugged him.

"Hide. That's the logical thing. Jes is only one being, and although he's treasured he's only _one_. The life of one wouldn't power over the life of the others at the mansion. But for us to live, the smartest thing to do is to hide," he said faintly. I pulled away.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not logical!" I grinned.

"What are you planning?" He asked.

"Ok! People! Listen up! Ryan, Kale, and I are going after Jes. Melee, you stay here and guard Jace. Ebony…yah you just keep it up. Alex, uh, just help Ebony. We'll be back! That's a promise!" I announced. The four staying looked at me and nodded.

"Where do we start?" Kale asked.

"At the mansion. They still have him. They wouldn't just grab him and run. He's somewhere bonded together in the fight," I thought out loud.

"Seems predictable," Ryan scoffed.

"Exactly why they'd do it! Besides, we have to check on the rest of our people," I smiled.

We flew quickly and silently to the house. From up above it looked like an anthill. Like the little black bugs were crawling all around the mansion as if it were a base. Then it looked like someone might have held a magnifying glass to it, for little patches of _fire_ was scattered everywhere. The black dots were Erasers. And there were hundreds of them.

"Ready?" I asked above the wind whipping my hair.

"Lead on!" Kale cheered.

We dove into the heat of battle. Kale charging first, me and Ryan on his heels. Kale continued straight, killing Erasers left and right, but me, I branched off.

There in the yard of our home was a group of mutated children, older then me, but maybe a year younger than Max, stood ready for bloodshed. Flair and Ice stood shoulder to shoulder, neither moving. Thy were frozen. I knew Flair could take a couple of whimpy idiots. I watched with anticipation as one advanced and all followed. They all charged, and Flair was trying to roast them. Ice was freezing the morons. I was filled with excitement. Whoever this group was was going down. They were going down _hard_, too.

Then a body clashed into mine and I stared up at a face I would not soon forget.

"_Night_!" I breathed.

"Gwen?" She growled. And she began to punch and kick. I rolled and tossed, but she had me pinned. The four massive avian boys came behind her and decided to fight dirty. Four on one. My nose was gushing and my lip split. I looked around. Not a soul in sight who was on _my_ side. I struggled out for under her grasp and I climbed to my feet. They had me surrounded. I had no safe place. No rest. My fists shot up and lashed out in violent strikes, each landing in a killer spot. I had two fists, two feet, and two wings, and I would have to use them all to get out of this alive.

"I do not understand, Gwen, how you can be so _ordinary_ but such a good fighter, hmmm? How Gwenny? Hmm? _How_?" Night's voice teased and pricked. I would not fall down. I would win this.

"Listen you ape! You b******! You can't have my family, and you sure as h*** can't have the youngest!" I growled. She paused for a moment and that stupid smirk came back.

"You're so foolish. You and your whole group. The Flock is _trash_, practically. A new generation has been created, _us_!" Night stated.

"You know, I think you have some flukes," I laughed trying to cover up my fear.

"Hmm? And what would those be…?" Night asked.

"Well, firstly, YOU'VE DROPPED YOUR GUARD!" I cried as I flung myself at her. I knocked into her and bounced off, but she was tipped over and fell to her butt.

"And secondly, you have terrible balance!" I screamed. My wings unfolded and I threw myself to the clouds. It still hurt to fly, but I'd have to work through it. Now where was Kale…?

"Gwen! Babe!" That was defiantly Ryan!

I turned and searched for him. Pivoting in the air, I scanned the horizon below.

"Gwen!" His voice came again.

I kept looking.

"GWEN! WATCH OUT!" His voice commanded. Next thing I knew a paw wrapped around my throat. I was yanked and shook. I eventually began to gag. The Eraser turned me to face him. I stared him in the eye.

A cunning grin played across his face. I squirmed, but there was no use. My legs stopped working first. Then my hands fell from the beasts wrists, allowing him to crush my windpipe tighter. Finally my whole body relaxed. It was done. I was done…or so it felt…

"Wake. Up. Gwen!"

The I was dropped. My head fell lower than my feet. My wings hung limply at my sides. I was falling. Then I realized that I should gasp for air and I jerked up, sending myself into a fold, and started tumbling through the air. In this whole process of trying to fill my lungs and catch myself a figure appeared at my side.

Finally a scream erupted from my mouth and I let it run until it rubbed the back of my throat raw. Finally the figure register and I shut up. My wings began to beat and I started to calm.

"Calm down! Why are you so freaked?!" Ryan smiled.

I could only shrug.

"It's because you saw my face," he joked.

"Yah…that's it…" I chuckled.

"I have a bomb in my pants and if you don't back up I will detonate it and it won't only blow up my a**, but anyone in a five mile radius! So, if your fond of your butt cheeks may I suggest stepping back!" Iggy blared. We landed.

"Move people!" I ordered.

"And I can't find Max, Angel, or Gaz! Where are they Kale?! Where's Dylan and Fang and the Migration!" Nudge blabbered.

"Gosh Nudge! Shut up! Gazzy is FINE! Fang and Dylan are looking for Max, and for the others…well…I'm not the knower of all things!" Kale yelled as he drug her along.

"Where's the others?" I asked. Fang and Dylan landed roughly behind us, along with Ice and Storm.

"Flair! Where is she!" I was really nervous.

"I lost her about eight Erasers back, right after we ran from the Herd," Ice said shyly as e rubbed the back of his neck.

"I haven't spotted Jes," I frowned.

"What happened to him?!" Nudge squeaked.

"They stole him," Ryan growled.

"What do we do about Angel and Flair!?" Kale asked. They all looked to me.

"We didn't find Max!" Fang and Dylan added.

"She's fine! Flair sent her to the cliff," Ice explained. I was so overwhelmed.

"I will fry you!" A menacing voice warned.

"FLAIR!" Ice cheered. There came the redhead, hurdling corpses and knocking down mutants left and right. On her shoulder was a little blond girl, who was half asleep, or so it appeared.

Flair came fast, handing Angel over to Dylan and falling into Ice's arms. She was cut to pieces.

"I will kill those Erasers one day. I'll burn them to the ground till not one can wield a knife, raise a gun, or swing a fist. One day we'll find _peace._ One day we will rest…" Flair whimpered. Huge gashes ripped across her side.

"Amen," is the one word Nudge mumbled.

"Lets move!" Came my voice again. This time I wasn't thinking like myself. My one purpose was clear: _to live_.

**Ok! I am so sorry that I skipped a day on updating! So very sorry! **

**Anyway, I would like to ask some questions. **

**1)Who is your favorite character **

**2) if you sent in an OC is he/she in character? Am I doing a good job of portraying them?**

**3) How is this fanfic compared to others? good? Bad?**

**Congratulations ****_sparks lupin_**** on your cross country run. **

**Congratulations ****_my flock_**** on your new story ****_Where We Stand. _****Please go read and review****_ my flock's _****story. It's awesome :)**

**I need 100 (that wouod be 3 more reviews) reviews before I update. If you are the [NOTICE: THE CONTEST HAS CHANGED! THE 100th reviewer does not want to enter an OC! THE NEXT REVIEWER I GET WILL WIN THE CONTEST!] 101st reviewer can send in an OC to be added into the story. This is a ****_one time privilege_****. If you do in fact win this ****_competition_**** I will PM you saying so. **

**Have a great day and I hope to update soon! :)**

**oh, and if u like this story or chapter send me a :{ mustache man in your review. **


	43. In The Rain We Stand, Alone

**In The Rain We Stand, Alone**

Kale's P.O.V.

We were hurrying home. We threw the Erasers off track miles ago. Now it was us. And we were _safe_. The Humans are hiding beside of a creek below. They are hidden and safe. But no one found Susan and the worst was expected. When Jim came to it wouldn't be good.

"You couldn't have picked anyone else to carry you?" Ice growled as he shifted Flair.

"I know, I'm scared that you're gonna drop me," she mumbled.

"Well, maybe I should!" He snapped.

"Shut up! I saved your butt so show some respect!" Flair crossed her arms.

"Yah! Well I remember pulling you out of the way of a bullet back there, so were even!" He growled. They started to bicker. I only sighed and face palmed myself. Then a streak of light rippled across the sky, illuminating the air around us. A rough boom of thunder followed. Flair jumped as her arms laced around Ice's neck and she pulled closer to him. He gripped tighter to her. They both stared up in wonder. Then they slowly tried to play it off as they pushed away from each other blushing. Their eyes wouldn't meet for some time. I mean _embarrassing_!

"Oh my gosh I was listening to rap and this guy was all like 'Your face looks like a tarantula! Your mom is a tarantula!' and it was so _awesome_! I mean he rhymed tarantula with tarantula _again_! Wow! Can you rap? I can't! I've tried! Watch!

Yo dude with da wings. Ya you! Marchin' around like you only got one shoe! I see you in my dreams, repeatin' 'I got to pee!' I'm like, back off, show off! You say roll with it and I'm like whoa! Uh huh! Yah! Porcupine quills and fuzzy quails! I wanna kangaroo with you! Uh huh!" She blabbered.** (A/N: and that was Nudge fail-rapping random things :P) **

I groaned.

"Your turn!" She chirped.

"Uhh? Sure. Lets see… Uh.

Naps, I take 'em.

Smoothies, I drank 'em.

Maracas, I shake 'em.

Vases, I break 'em.

Lampshades, I rock 'em.

Girls, I…chase 'em…?" I tried. (**And just to make it better! Lol ;))**

"Pervert," Nudge rolled her eyes.

"I screwed up bad, Dylan," Storm frowned.

"Everyone's still _alive_," Dylan smiled. Storm, on the other hand, did not.

"Watch this!" I said to Iggy as I punched his arm.

"I'm _watching_. I can't wait to _see_ you fail at whatever I'm supposed to be _observing_," Iggy chuckled. Oh yah. I flew straight up, went in a big loop, and circled behind Gwen and Ryan, who were _talking_.

"Ssssssssup?!" I cried as I slammed into Ryan, squeezing myself between them.

"Gosh! Why!" Ryan whined.

"You know you love me!" I laughed.

"Yes, your just like an annoying younger brother who is afraid of the dark!" Ryan sneered.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK! IM AFRAID OF WHAT WILL _HAPPEN_ IN IT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Both Gwen and Ryan drifted back.

"Maybe you don't understand! You've been sheltered your whole life, but when you've been in the heck I've lived through you learn survival strategies. One is clear…when the lights go out they rip your loved ones away, make them fly to exhaustion, cause them to crash because they're button happy, and then recreate them into the same freaking looking being, but they're not your brother, dude, they're a _clone_! Who remembers _nothing_! Do you get what I'm saying?!" My eyes narrowed and my anger flared.

Ryan glanced to Gwen and put on a teasing grin.

"Take it easy, big boy," he chuckled as he pushed me back.

"Seriously?! I might not have a high intelligence, I may not be as handsome as you either, but one things for sure…YOU CAN'T TREAT ME LIKE A _DOG_!" I growled as I advanced. He shied back some.

"And you can't tell me how to protect _my_ family, and you can't tell me what's right for her, and you can't order _me_ around and toss me to the side!" I growled. I could choke the life out of him, watch it fade from those cocky eyes. But that would be bad. His eyes would buldge out like squeaky toy. I felt terrible. I was as bad as the Whitecoats. Man, was that new. This was the first time I had actually expressed _anger_.

"Kale?" Gwen called. I felt her poke me, like I was an _animal_.

"I know! Apologize and walk go away…" I frowned. But I wouldn't do it. No. I couldn't. So I flew away from the two and back to Iggy.

"So…it didn't sound to _good_…" Iggy whispered.

"It wasn't. I hate that guy..." I grumbled.

_"Jealousy_?" Iggy snorted.

"Uh huh..." I nodded.

"We're almost there!" Fang called back.

Well that's a plus. And it starts to rain..._great_.

"Ryan! Stop! I can't breath! You're _hilarious_!" Gwen cackled. I glanced back, my hair plastered to my face. And I saw it. _Him_. Ryan was making fun of me. Me. And he was pretending to have a break down...like I did thirty seconds ago. And Gwen. Gwen was laughing. _My_ Gwen was laughing hysterically at my mistakes. My heart ached. She happened to glance up and her green eyes met mine for a moment. I set my jaw and looked back ahead of me. The rain poured and a tear slid from my eye. No one would notice. Nope. Not a soul. Not only because of the rain, but nobody cared about me. No one spoke to me. No one talks to me, no one _respects_ me. I am _human_ still. Then it struck me. They don't talk to me because I'm _dumb_. I'm stupid and _childish_. Another tear. And Gwen was pretty and lovable. I was dumb. I am _useless_.

"Kale? Are you ok?" Iggy asked.

"Y-yah! I'm just trying to keep my head above water. I would play I-spy, but yah...that probably wouldn't work," I made awkward conversation.

"I spy something black. Guess the answer. It's the back of my corneas," Iggy grinned, "That was a hard one!"

The cliff was just ahead. I decided to fly fast. It would just look like I'm an idiot. So no one would expect that I was trying to get away from them. I glanced back before I started flapping harder and soaring higher. I went a lot faster. I slowed when I came to the cliff. Bodies laid everywhere!

"GUYS! HELP! BODIES! HELP!" I called with desperation as I landed and slid on the steep wet rocks. Most of the bodies were Erasers, the others were bird kids. I went to my knees. There in the midst of it all, laid Max. She was soaking wet, and tucked under her arm was Alex.

Alex's face had three claw marks down her cheek. Like _Wolverine_ had attacked her or something.

Then, held tight in her little hand was Jace's hand. He was terrible. Not only was there a huge chunk of flesh taken from his side, but now his am was cut open.

Melee's body I found hanging off a branch in a nearby tree. I flew up and poked her. She frowned and her head lifted up. A big black eye, acquainted with a split lip, was implanted on her face.

"Melee?" I whispered.

"I tried," she whimpered.

"Shh, I know…" I nodded as I picked her little frail body up.

"What is it, Kale? See a pretty butterfly or something?" Ryan called.

I climbed down, bringing Melee with me. I looked up and there was the faint outline of the group.

"Is this funny to you?!" I screamed. The snickers stopped. They landed and their eyes widened. Jaws dropped. Fang ran to Max. Melee leaned against me.

"I just wasn't strong enough," she said. I looked down at her. She leaned on me.

"You kept them alive," I stated.

"Ebony," she pointed downward. There lay her body. The dark brown hair lad back behind her. Her wings stretched out. She was soaked, and the puddle beside her was a dingy red.

"STORM!" I wailed. Crenshaw just continued to point. Storm read the sign and he slid down the cliff to the bottom and cradled Ebony.

"Eb? Ebs!" He called softly. He wiped the hair out of her face.

"Stay," I ordered Melee as I spread my wings and fluttered down. Ebony was scratched to pieces. Her arms were bruised and blood trickled down. She must have fell down like someone pushed her off the edge…

"S-Storm?" She croaked.

"Thank goodness, you're ok!" He sighed as he kissed her forehead.

"Im soaked…" she began, "Oh! The Migration! Max came and the Erasers, they-they attacked and… are they ok?! What about Jes?! How did you get here?! Kale! The Migration! They've been…like beat up!"

"They're fine," Melee's voice echoed. I looked behind and there she stood.

"I thought I told you to _stay_ put?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't obey you," she said bluntly. Well then Ms. Hateful!

"What?!" Someone screamed from above. Ebony shot to her feet, pulling Storm with her.

"What's going on?!" She asked.

"Lets find out!" I mumbled. We flew up, slowly considering Crenshaw and Ebony had been beat to just about to _death_, to the cliff. There stood Max. She had on the 'home alone' face and stared wide eyed at Fang. He explained some thing to her…_again_.

"Alex?" Flair moved her sister. Alex's hand slipped from Jace's. that little act resulted in Jace waking up screaming, Jace jerking up to a sitting position, and then laying back down because something in his side hurt him.

"Dude. You ok?" Ice asked him as he scooted closer. Jace's skin was dented.( If you don't think that sentence was weird read it again. ) If it dents his skin then you know they hit him hard, with something as strong as _diamond_. The only time he bleeds is when his nose just has one of those freak nose bleeds.

"How's everyone else?" Jace grunted.

"Fine…I think," Flair smiled. Alex was curled in a ball. Her tail was matted to her side. Flair held her wings out, sheltering Jace and Alex from the rain.

"Alex? Bunny?" Jace leaned over and shook her. She didn't wake up.

"What's wrong?!" He shrieked. Ice slapped a hand over his mouth.

"She's fine! She's breathing, I swear!" Ice growled and rolled his eyes.

"Kale! stop standing there like a moron and do something!" Gwen barked. I immediately began to move. The slippery rock made my feet slide out from under me and I crashed on my butt. Everyone looked up as the splat of me hitting echoed. They laughed and I turned bright red. I thought I broke my tail bone! I just sat there and put my head in my hands. I found out that Max was back inside the cave, actually the whole Flock was, tending to Angel. We sat out in the rain and wind huddled together telling our war stories. Catching the others up.

Gwen leaned back on Ryan, who was stroking we hair-GROSS!- and snuggling with her.

"_Kale_! Earth to Kale!" Crenshaw waved her hand in my face.

"Uhhhh…what?" I stuttered.

"You conked out there, like always," Gwen frowned.

"And you were glaring. Your eye twitched and your teeth bared. Why are you so mad?" Alex asked. Oh, whoops. Went to far with the 'I-Want-To-Kill-Ryan!' thing huh?

"I-I was just…just thinking about Jes, and uh Carl," I mumbled. They _believed_ it! Wow.

"It's so cold! Do you Max will let us in yet?" Flair whined. Ice, who was sitting near here, scooted away. Flair shot him a funny look.

"Do I smell bad?" She questioned.

"No…I just thought it was a hint…'cause I…I control _ice_. You know, _cold_?" He tried to explain.

Flair rolled her eyes and said something that sounded like, "You were the only thing keeping me _warm_." but that could be my imagination.

Max was keeping us out of the cave while she tried to tend to Angel, who wasn't even _that_ hurt. I was wet, cold, and hurt.

"Ryan, can't you just…make the rock…you know…go POOF! And build a cave?" I tried. He laughed at me. I wanted to strangle him.

"That's actually a good idea! Build us a cave!" Ebony commanded.

Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Pppplease?!" Gwen gave him puppy dog eyes and he finally complied.

"Much better!" Alex chirped as she laid down. Ryan had made the stone come up and curve over. Gwen smiled as she reclined back.

"Isn't this just _cozy_," Storm mumbled.

"Yah," Melee snorted. I looked around. Flair and Ice, a pair I took to calling 'The Opposites', were not actually together but you could tell that they would be. One day. Ebony and Storm were cuddled together. Alex was curled in a ball right beside of Jace. I called them 'Bunnies'. Go figure. Then there was Ryan with Gwen laid on his chest. This pair called 'Disgusting'. Wonder why? It sickened me. I mean, I wasn't gonna loose her. Ever.

Dylan wasn't here. He was with the Flock. L_ucky him_.

"I'm going for a...a walk," I said, my voice cracking.

"Did your voice just crack?! Oh gosh, he already broke his hind end, now his voice?!" Ryan howled with laughter. I stood, somewhat (my butt hurt!) and stomped away. I hate him. Hate…!

I made my way to the edge of the cliff. I wanted to jump off, spread my wings, and fly to the moon. There I could live alone, watching the people below. Anyway, standing here alone in the pouring rain as it pelts my shoulders and runs down my face I noticed something. We were in the eye of the hurricane, or better yet the _calm before the storm._ I listened intently waiting for something, _anything_.

Dylan's P.O.V.

Angle wasn't doing great. She was fine, yes, but she wasn't back to _normal_. I stared out the cave entrance. I was daydreaming when my sight zoomed in on something far away.

Boots! Lots of boots tromping through dense underbrush. Then voices acquainted them.

"They're in a cave, just up this climb!" One explained.

"How many?" Another asked.

"Fourteen, we _think_…" someone stated.

This was…US! Oh my gosh!

"And we can kill the useless ones, right? I mean, we take Maximum and the Ultimate and the other elementals and go. The others are _trash_, right?" A younger person questioned.

"Yes."

Then I saw the faces of Erasers and of that stupid emo freak Night and the leader of that Herd. They were at the base of the cliff!

"GWEN! Guys?! Run! Run NOW!" Kale commanded from outside. We all jumped to our feet and ran to him. We peered over the edge and about three dozen Erasers, a group of the Dark Angels, the Herd, and some scientists we scattered below.

"War," I breathed.

"Let them come. One last fight, one last battle, and one last scar. Let it end here, by their blood. For the lost! For family!" Storm said boldly.

They came, and stood on the opposite end of the cliff. They were challenging us. I saw Gwen pick a gun off the dead body of an Eraser and tuck it into her back pocket. I wish I could find one…

"Here! Is this what you're looking for?!" Jeb, yes I don't know how he even got here, said as Jes was pulled from a burlap sack and was thrown to the ground.

"You crossed a line!" Gwen snarled.

_And the battle began…_

**ok! People, I'm very sorry. This thing wouldn't let me update, so I couldn't. **

**•deep sorry to _my flock_-who I told I would update again on Friday**

**•congratulations_ sparks lupin_-who won the contest!**

**•thanks to all reviewers! We now have _over_ 100 reviews! Keep it up!**

**•thanks to all those who have said "This is my favorite fanfic!" that's awesome and you don't know how much that means to me!**

**•stories you should read- Where We Stand (_my flock_) and L****ife or Death**** (_Wingzforever_)**

**•to_ The Winged Nyan-_there will 2 more OC's added, but don't fret because some characters will start to be…_taken away_…**

**•Im really happy that my old time reviewers are back! Yay! **

**•and I think this story needs more new reviewers (so any ideas on how to get them would be greatly appreciated)**

**again sorry that I couldn't update, but I eventually did! Yay! Anyway, the FIRST time I wrote this it was full of detail and stuff, so this chapter might suck [dont be afraid to tell me!] because i had to type it up like 5 times! The next chapter will blow your mind. It's a violent chapter, but there are some key questions answered.__**

**_I need three more reviews a before I update!_**

**:{ **


	44. Meet Gwen

**Ok, so here's the next chapter. Sorry that it took me so long to update. I was hoping it would come out awesomely, but I'm not so sure. Anyway…I hope it makes you go :O**

**Meet Gwen**

Kale's P.O.V.

We almost charged. _Almost_.

"Stop!" Jeb's voice commanded. We all froze. An Eraser held a gun to Jes's head. To his temple. We stood on edge.

"Now, hand over…" Jeb began.

"_Never_!" Gwen shouted. Jeb was stunned speechless.

Finally his words came,"We have three dozen Erasers and two of the _top_ assassin groups. Not to mention guns, while you all are hurt and limited in numbers."

"Oh, I see. Your at a _disadvantage_," Gwen nodded.

Jeb sputtered, trying to think up some kind of comeback. Gwen pressed on.

"Now, how about you tell us how you found us, eh?" Gwen said with narrowed eyes. Jeb recollected himself and put on a grim grin.

"Well, Ms. Susan Greenburg here has been a helpful associate of ours…" Jeb said motioning to a woman in a long white lab coat.

_Susan_.

Susan was a traitor!

"Susan? Susan! _You_ did this?! You?!" Max cried. Susan only nodded and smiled devilishly.

"You're quite gullible, Maximum Ride. _Gullible_ indeed," Jeb sneered.

"Seriously, Jeb? You outsmarted a bunch of _kids_! Bravo! Lets give you a round of applause!" Gwen growled. Jeb glanced back at her.

"You don't even have the rank to speak! You are just some sort of rat! You're minor compared to the others. You have no power! You are a _failure_! You can't talk to me like that! I'll kill you where you stand!" I think Gwen got on Jeb's nerves, 'cause he was screaming and yelling and spitting while he spoke. I backed up a few steps to dodge the spit.

"Say it, don't spray it!" Melee gagged. We're in deep trouble.

"I'd like to see you try!" Gwen challenged. Jeb snapped and the Dark Angels came to his side. And one stepped out in front of them all. A person I never thought we'd see again. His short choppy black hair was cut short. His dark brown eyes edged in _red_.

"Carl?!" Gwen cried. He looked over at her. It was awkwardly silent. I figured Gwen would break into tears, but she didn't.

"It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all! You may think it's really big, but it's a small, small world!" I sang. Everyone slowly looked over at me. Crenshaw hit me over the head. I guess singing _Its A Small World_ isn't appropriate right now…

"You think?!" Angel's voice snarled. I looked over at her. Mouth shut, focusing hard on the matter at hand. Well that was weird…

"I can read your mind Kale. As well as send thoughts," she came again. I gawked at her. This was really weird.

"Pay attention!" She barked in my head. I gulped and looked back to Gwen, who was staring wide-eyed at her brother.

"Why, Carl, _why_?" Her voice was unsteady and hurt. He looked at her with those red rimmed eyes.

"It's simple Gwen," he smiled, "they offered cookies."

"_Bribed_? Is that what you think happened?! No! You were adopted and forced into this! This isn't you, Carl! Sylvia…did you forget our baby sister?! We promised each other that we'd protect her! You promised to never be like Dad…" Gwen yelled from the bottom of her heart. The pain in her voice. The hurt. Her heart was bleeding out. Each new twist the stab of a cold iron knife into her sanity.

"I am now called Eris. I have learned that you…and your little connections to our past lives…are moronic. We are powerful, Gwen. _I'm_ powerful. Now, choose to live…" Carl motioned behind himself at the other Dark Angels, at Jeb,"or a crushed skull. It's your choice. Choose wisely…"

"I guess you chose death, _Eris_. You are not my brother! He would have rather died than have this! This _nightmare_ of a life. Living with rabid wolves, obeying a ruthless, worthless, backstabbing, blood thirsty, monster! This isn't you! They are worth fighting for! That child is worth fighting for! You're _humanity_ should will you to throw up your fists! I am unbreakable, Eris. Don't give me your lies. I won't give you sympathy. Look me in the eyes, Eris. Look and see h***. Be prepared to journey to there…if its the last thing I do. If that's the last feather I shed…" Gwen growled.

"That's sad sister. _Sad_. I finally found why Dan beat us. _He_ had the power. Now _I_ have the power. And he was right, it feels _good_ to be the ruler. _To cause tears_…" Eris smiled and stepped back, spreading his black wings.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way…lets get to the point. Hand over the Ultimate. Give us the Maximum," Jeb continue. His dogs advanced and Gwen held up a hand. The beasts stopped to a halt.

"I'll give you the choice. Go home, _or_ die where you stand. In a pool of your own blood. With lead burning hot in your bones," Gwen said darkly and mysteriously. They all chuckled and flinched, about to move. Gwen pulled a gun from her back pocket and held it steady, straight forward. They all stared in surprise.

"Move back!" She barked. They surprisingly obeyed. Jeb shifted nervously.

"Oh yah, Jeb. You know about my aim. You know that I never miss. You _know_," Gwen grinned as she gripped the handgun tighter.

"There's no need for that. Besides we have guns on you. We have the upper hand…" Jeb tried to talk her out of it.

"I am not afraid. It seems that I have enough amo to put a bullet in your skull and kill your little merry band of mutated emos!" Gwen taunted in a stern, hardcore voice.

"Sir, she had impeccable aim. If she were to fire it seems that she has enough logical sense to shoot _you_ and…" a young Whitecoat explained in a quick whisper to Jeb.

"I know!" Jeb hushed.

There was a silence.

"She won't do it!" He proclaimed so surely. Gwen swallowed and adjusted the gun. Her eyes narrowed and the look she shot was petrifying.

"Won't I?" She questioned. He gulped and glanced to the ground before meeting her gaze and regaining his former completion.

"No. You're to weak…" he started before the Whitecoat leaned over again.

"She will. You know that she has a strong will. Remember the electrocution test? She just sat down in the maze and was shocked almost to the point of retirement. She would not stand and comply with our force," he said quietly. I remembered that. For once a mutant won in that test. It was scratched into the wall outside. It was a record breaking stand up. The very first time a mutant had stood up for themselves and _won_. Sure she had minor shocks and burns, but she won.

"Listen to your friend, Jeb," Gwen warned.

"This is nonsense! She will not pull that trigger, I swear on my life…" Jeb shouted, assuring his minions. I saw the look in Gwen's eyes. I saw it. And my prediction was right.

Gwen's hands jerked to the side. Her thumb hit the…the…anyway she cocked the gun. Her finger quickly squeezed the trigger.

We all watched the bullet. I drew its path in my mind. The bullet hit with a silent thump.

Susan fell. Her lifeless body hitting the wet, muddy ground. Everyone's jaws dropped. We were caught off guard. That was something I didn't expect…something I would have never guessed. And Jeb acted the same way as me. _Stunned_.

Gwen, however, kept her cool and turned to Jeb, still wielding the gun, aiming with such preciseness that it made my skin crawl. Her expression was menacing, yet her lips were pressed tightly together in a flat line.

"Still think I won't do it?" Gwen asked. All the color faded from Jeb's face. He wrung his hands worriedly.

"Y-You'll pay for that! You little _freak_!" Jeb cried.

"Will I?"

With that little snide comment Jeb growled and screamed. His group looked frightened. Like they might turn and run at this very moment.

"Kill the child!" Jeb ordered. The click of the gun being cocked made my heart stop.

"Whoa!" Gwen commanded. And again they listened.

"If you kill Jester then I'll take something a million times more valuable!" Gwen yanked Max over and held her still. Max looked sick as Gwen put the gun to her temple.

"You wouldn't do it. She's one of you," Jeb said a little to full of himself.

"I really wish you'd stop telling me what I _wouldn't_ do," Gwen sighed. Then she shot Max in the leg, causing Max to howl in pain. Jeb gawked. I too was scared.

Gwen only rolled her eyes and gripped Max's arm tighter.

"Now, hand over the kid," Gwen ordered. The Eraser looked to Jeb, almost begging. Jeb complied and nodded. Jester was pushed forward and he ran to Alex's open arms.

"I suggest you get your a** in that helicopter," Gwen whole time she was calm and expressionless. Yup, just like Fang.

Jeb lumbered over to the lead helicopter and turned to us. "This isn't over," he reminded as he climbed in. He apparently didn't judge the height of the roof on the chopper right because as he stepped up he bonked his head, making me snicker. Ice clapped, mocking him. Jeb looked around, appearing dazed. And then he gulped and asked his colleagues if anyone saw that. They nodded bitterly. Yes, they can't even get in a freaking helicopter without causing themselves harm, but they're certified surgeons and inventors. And how, exactly, do these people know how to put wings on a child's back? The world may never know…

They actually hurried away. The scientists loading in the first helicopter and the Erasers and The Herd climbing ini the second. The Dark Angels flew in front.

Gwen let go of Max, who was trying not to cry, but was failing. Gwen watched the choppers leave. She dropped the gun and nodded grimly. Ice whistled the perfect explanation of her.

A hardcore bad a**.

**Like it? Hate it? I need your alls honest opinion, so plz tell me what you think :) REVIEW! **

**Also, if you have any theme song ideas for characters or the story/plot just tell me in a review or PM. **

**Hopefully I update soon, if this earsplitting thunder ever does down…**


	45. Healer Girl

**Healer Girl**

Gwen's P.O.V.

I turned around to see Fang grabbing Max. She was biting her lip and her hands trembled. Then I realized that I had shot her in the leg. _Whoops_. They took her inside the cave because the storm was still raging. Ebony and Alex followed behind, filled with the urge to assist. Storm, Ryan, Ice, Flair, Dylan, Jace, Jes, and Kale stared at me scared to death. I smiled nervously and wiped my sweaty hands on my pants.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Kale cheered as he raced forward, wrapping me in a bear hug. The others whooped and hollered behind him. They all ran forward screaming. We had beaten Jeb, and embarrassed the crap out of him. Yay! I didn't know that I had it in me.

"How?! That was sweet!" Ryan grinned. I pushed away from Kale and fell into Ryan's arms.

"I don't know…it just kinda…clicked," I mumbled.

"It thought I was dead!" Jes chuckled.

"Amazing!" Flair breathed.

"No, it's not," Fang's voice said dully. Ryan let go and they all filed behind me in a cluster. Angel, Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy flanked Fang. I was intimidated.

"Wha…" I began.

"You shot Max. You could've killed her," he stated.

"Sure…one little bullet in the leg was gonna kill her," I rolled my eyes.

"She's pregnant and loosing blood! There was a better way of doing that!" He barked and stepped forward. I copied and shot back.

"A better way?! There was no fight and only one of us got injured! Jes is alive! Now tell me a better way I could've done that!" I growled glaring up at him.

He was silent.

"She'll live. We all will. Suck it up," I said sternly. His fists clenched.

"You're not one of the Flock…" he started.

"Fang!" Nudge cried.

"Is that a threat?! Huh?! I'm not a member of your stupid Flock, so I'm just a minor piece in your life?! I saved your butt! I saved your kid and your wife, Fang! I think I know what I'm doing! And I don't want to be apart of anything that limits me and my newfound freedoms! I'm not a beta, I will not be ruled!" I hissed. His breaths were short and shallow. He was mad.

"_Then get out_!" He ordered. I stared straight in his eyes. I was equally as mad. I was _equal_. I would stand my ground.

"Whoa!" Came Max's voice. She came bounding from the cave.

"Stay out of this!" Fang warned.

"Out?! Seriously?! Things don't work so you just kick people out?!" I stared at him through my wet bangs.

Silence again.

"Fang!" Max screamed. He turned toward her, and his brows eased and he went cooled down.

"How are you up on your feet?" He asked. I glanced over Max's shoulder and saw Alex wearing the biggest ol' grin.

"You?" I questioned.

Alex nodded and announced that she had developed a new power…_healing_. We all were stunned.

"I guess in not worthless after all…" she whispered.

"Of coarse not! You never were," Jace assured as he went over to her, limping. Alex ran her hand down his arm, the dents coming undone. Her hands glowed gold, like a ray of sun was shining from them. We watched in awe as he was practically changed back to normal.

"Thanks!" He breathed.

"Cool, right?" She laughed.

After a long session of 'healer girls' amazing new talent we were all practically fixed. Kinda.

We flew back to our three, or should I say _two_, remaining loyal Humans. We landed in the woods and found Ella weeping over Jim's body. Dr. M sat there, dazed.

"Mom! What-what happened?!" Max asked.

"H-He w-was just l-laying here and I ch-checked f-for a pulse and…and he d-didn't have one!" Ella wailed. Iggy went to her side and Max shook her mom.

"MOM!" She called. But Dr. M just looked up at her, tears streaming from her big brown eyes, and uttered two words.

"Internal bleeding." And as I glanced back to Jim's body, scanning over his face I saw blood trickling from his mouth.

This day couldn't be more disappointing! The house was blown to pieces.

We all sat down and huddled together. We were hurt, scarred, and scared. _Not_ a good combination. And I fell asleep in Ryan's arms, with Kale's wing folded over me. Yah, it was an awkward situation. Alex's head was on Jace's shoulder. Jes was wedged in between them. Flair and Ice sat beside each other. They were arguing over something. Nudge, Iggy, Ella, Angel, and Gazzy were sprawled all over the forest floor. Max and Fang were snuggled together. I hate him. Fang, I mean. Hate. He's a butt hole. Idiot.

Melee was surprisingly sleeping on the other side of Kale. Dr. M leaned against a fallen tree trunk. We were "cozy".

"Gwen?" Ryan whispered. I pushed Kale's wing off slowly. He was already asleep.

"Mh hm?" I looked up lazily at him.

"You were freaking awesome today," he grinned. I wiggled closer to his chest.

"That was my brother. The red eyed kid. That was my brother," I sniffled. He pulled me up to look him in the eyes.

"Sh, it's fine. You're ok," he cooed.

"How was everything while I was gone…?" I started to ask before his lips clashed into mine.

**so, what do u think? Review and I'll update!**

**For theme songs so far we have the suggestions - Light Em Up by Fallout Boy for Gwen from The Winged Nyan and World So Cold by Three Days Grace for Ice from my flock. **

**If u have a better one send it in. If you have one for a character, the plot, or a pairing send it in! Oh also we have Over and Over and Over by Three Days Grace for Kale and Gwen's love submitted by my flock**

**also, thanks to The Winged Nyan we have a name for Gwen+Kale…GWALE! That's for u team Lampshades out there! ;) :{**


	46. Mark

TIME SKIP: 1 week later

**Mark**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"We need to find a house," Nudge tried. We all stared at her.

"What, exactly, do you think we've been trying to do?!" Gazzy threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

Dr. M slid into the booth, sipping her coffee. "Be nice, Gazzy. We need a car first, though."

We were sitting in McDonalds, munching away at about eight dozen sausage biscuits. Kale shifted uneasily. He was crammed in with Melee (his new friend) and Jes.

"How are we supposed to get a car big enough for all of us?" Iggy sighed.

"Yah, what can hold_ 20 people_?" Angel piped up.

Melee stood up abruptly and left. Jes hopped to his feet and followed.

"Someone needs to supervise those two!" Max reminded.

"Ooooh! Me!" Kale chirped as he jumped to his feet.

"Ok…someone needs to supervise those _three_…" Max shook her head.

"I got it! Don't sweat it! Besides…we're only gonna do _minor_ damage," Kale assured.

"See! That's what worries me!" Max sounded scared.

"Can we play in the ball pit?" Gazzy asked rubbing his hands together.

"No."

"Please!"

"Sit down."

"My wings ache," Flair groaned as she sunk lower in her chair.

"Aww, poor _baby_," Ice rolled his eyes.

"You just called her your _baby_!" Jace howled with laughter. Alex copied. Ice glared.

"I meant it as in _infant_…" Ice grumbled. A new wave of laughs broke out.

"Great pickup line…What's up, _Infant_?" Ryan chuckled. Ice slammed his hands down on the table and stood. Soon he had retreated to the bathroom.

"Awkward!" Nudge whispered. We all agreed silently.

After we finished breakfast we were relaxing. Getting ready to leave wasn't easy. We heard a loud honk. I just figured it was a car outside, but it happened again and I looked up to see a big yellow bus. I shot to my feet and fleeted out the door, the others following. In the drivers seat was Kale. A few windows were rolled down and Melee stuck her head out one. She was wearing dark glasses, which she pushed to the the brink of her nose and gave us the "Sup" symbol. The song _'We Will Rock You' w_as blaring. Jes popped his head out next window and waved.

"Look what we found!" He chirped. Oh gosh…

"All aboard!" Kale screamed as he opened the door. I stepped in fist, cautiously.

"How did you get it running?" Dr. M asked.

"Crenshaw there is quite the mechanic," Kale beamed. Melee sunk lower in her seat.

"What license plate does it have?" Dr. M continued.

"One Jes stole from the old car," Kale mumbled.

"Well…I guess I could drive…" Dr. M smiled. The thing was old and the paint was fading, but at least we had something with wheels.

"See! We're helpful!" Kale clapped as he sat next to me.

"Move," I ordered. He just stared at me.

"Hateful," he grumbled as Ryan took his place. He sat across the aisle glaring.

"Kale…" I started. He huffed and smashed his face against the window, ignoring me. Yah that'd work…

"Alright! Where are we going?" Storm asked. Dylan flopped down in a seat and it creaked and busted.

"A hotel?" Ebony suggested.

"Lets sleep in Mark!" Jes grinned.

"_Mark_?" Angel asked.

"That's what I named the bus."

Great, cruisin' in the big yellow _Mark_.

Sweet…

**Ok, so there it is! Anyway we got some more theme songs, yay!**

**Shadowfire123**

Ebony: I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin (i think this one matches the plot better myself)  
Storm: Awake and Alive By Skillet  
For Storm and Ebony pairing: The Only Exception by Paramore

**u can challenge theme songs with new ones. Send in them songs!**


	47. Fice

**Fice**

Flair's P.O.V.

"Hey Flair?" Ice called softly. I glanced over at him.

"Yah?" I answered.

"C-Can I tell you something?" He asked. I sat up straight.

"It's a free country," I said. He let out a deep sigh and wiped his hands on his pants.

"We'll…?" I hurried. He moved from across the aisle to my seat. He was _way_ to close. Finally he slumped back against the seat.

"What if I said I liked someone?" He whispered. I froze.

"Who?" I questioned. He wouldn't look me in the eye.

"A girl…she doesn't know. She thinks I'm a jerk," he mumbled.

"Everyone does," I stated. Finally he looked me in the eyes and glared at me.

"I just…don't know if she likes me back. I think she thinks of me as an annoying show off. How can I tell if y-SHE likes me?" Ice scooted closer, putting me against the window. It was dark outside.

"What do you want?" I snapped. He looked at with those grey eyes, the flecks of gold sparkling.

"Nothing," he whispered, sounding disappointed. He ran his hands through his white hair.

"Who is it?" I tried. He cracked a grin and looked at me like he was gonna hug me.

"Her name is…" he leaned in, "_Flair_." And then he was so close that his lips were on mine. What?! His arms wrapped around me. I pushed him away and slammed him against the seat, knocking the wind out of him.

"Are you sane?" I screamed.

"Yes," he laughed. I beat him against the seat again.

"What was that?!" I breathed.

"Love?"

"No!"

"Whatever you say…"

"It wasn't love…because I don't like you!" I yelled. He fell silent. He leaned over his knees, his back arched an his hands clasped together.

"Ice?" I rubbed his wings.

"Yah," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. He sat up. My hand flew to his arm. His skin was freezing cold.

"I am too," he frowned as he moved seats. He was sitting across the aisle, his forehead leaned against the window staring out.

I didn't like Ice…or did I? _Oh gosh_…

I moved to his seat. He didn't even look over at me. I hesitated at first, but I eventually laid my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry…that I didn't see it before," I chocked out. His head jerked my way. He turned and the best smile I've ever seen him wear was plastered to his face.

"You like me?" He asked, calming down. I shrugged and leaned against him. His muscles tensed.

"Am I making you nervous?" I questioned.

"Just a tad…" he smiled.

"WHOA! LOOK AT FLAIR AND ICE!" I heard Jes cry. Oh gosh…

**ha ha, there's some Fice for ya. What would u like to see next?**


	48. Memories

**Memories**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"We're driving through the country farmland! Do you think we'll see a cowboy?" Nudge exclaimed.

"No," Max rolled her eyes.

"Are we there yet!?" Jes cried for the millionth time.

"I'm gonna throw you out the window if you ask that one more freakin time!" Ice growled.

"But why, Gwen?! What does he have that I don't?" Kale asked. I face palmed myself.

"I'm right here!" Ryan snapped as he leaned forward. So lets set the scene. Kale is across the aisle saying that he should have me, and Ryan is nearest the window beside me and I'm between the two. Great, right?

"Ow! You just sat on my tail!" Alex hissed. Jace apologized and blushed.

"So if I freeze, and you burn we can keep our body temperatures constant and I won't accidentally freeze you like…uh…last time," Ice planned.

"Correction! She'll burn your face off, you'll give her lips frostbite, and the bus will go up in flames. Bad idea," Iggy interrupted. Yah. Last night when those two kissed Ice froze Flair, and Flair accidentally burned the seat a little.

This is what happens when you mutate teenagers! Crap goes down! And our ride is turned into a chaotic madhouse!

"Gwen!" Kale shouted. I glared at him.

"What?! Give me a flipping break! Ok?!" I screamed. Oddly the bus fell silent. Maybe I was a little too loud…?

"Are we there yet?!" Jes cried.

"You little…" Ice started climbing across the seat.

"We don't even have anywhere to go!" Nudge added. Flair and Melee had to push Ice back while Jester screamed bloody murder.

"No! Not ok!" Kale yelled over the already earsplitting conversations. It was overwhelming.

"Shush!" I ordered. He didn't comply. His words just ranted on. I sighed and leaned back, closing my eyes. Ryan crawled across me to shout at Kale some more.

"Gwenny Pig?" Jes climbed over some seats and plopped down in my lap. G_wenny Pig_? Great…

"Yah, little?" I asked. He looked at me with his big purple eyes. I ruffled his bright blue hair.

"Would you tell me a story?" He almost begged.

"Sure," I smiled down at him. He looked at me sweetly and snuggled against my shoulder.

"Once upon a time…" I started. The chatter died down and people eventually settled. Kale glanced over and his brows furrowed.

"Oh, so even Jes can get you to pay him some attention, but I can't get anything past _shut up?!_" Kale crossed his arms. I sighed. Ryan laid back.

_"There was a girl with chubby little legs and arms coated in scars. She was a nobody. To her whole town she was trash. Well, one day she was getting off the bus when a little blond haired devil tapped on her shoulder. She turned to stare at him, scared and worried._

_"How are you, Chubs?" He teased. She cowered and tried to run, but he spun her around and pushed her books to the muddy ground._

_"Please, I just want to go home," she pleaded, but the boy only grinned and pushed her to the ground. She tried to get up and he laughed at her._

_"Like a turtle stuck on its back," the boy sneered. He jogged off to his house, never giving the girl a second thought. She scampered around, recovering dingy, dirty books. She ran home as fast as she could, but she was to late._

_Her mother was out cold on the tile floor, beaten with a frying pan. Her little brother was hiding under the bed while her drunken father tried to coax him out with a butcher knife. Her baby sister lay on the floor, crying for a bottle of milk and warm arms. The girl was late and when she entered the dwelling her father was infuriated. He attacked with the knife. His bloodshot eyes shining with hatred. His breath smelled of booze as he screamed over and over again, "You should've died in the womb! You don't deserve to live!"_

_The girl cried out for help. "Why?" Is all she could shout. The knife whacked repeatedly. She fled out the door, the man chasing. The blond haired boy was outside, throwing a frisby. He saw her, yet he just turned his back and ignored. The girl was beaten and bruised, locked in a closet, and starved. No one noticed the next day at school that she was gone. No one even cared. The blond haired boy knew, but he refused to take up for the girl. To him she was a target. An easy hobby he could torture. It made him superior…"_ I said while glaring at Kale.

"That's not how it happened!" He defended. I rose to my feet, passing Jes to Ryan and adventuring to the aisle.

"It is and you know it!" I stood straighter.

"I screwed up Gwen, but that was long ago when I was young and foolish," he tried as he copied me.

"YOU'RE STILL STUPID!" I screeched.

"Gwen, I'm sorry! Don't you get it?!" Kale grabbed my shoulders.

"Get off me!" I slapped his hands away and shoved him back down.

"Whoa!" Ryan jumped up and grabbed me and sat me behind him.

"You would've never even cared about me if it weren't for the fact that were crammed in cages!" I spat. Kale frowned.

"I know, that's exactly it. It took me a long time to realize that all you needed was a friend," he whispered.

"All I needed was to die that night! To die!" I whimpered.

"And that would've done what?! Without you I would've been killed! We wouldn't be on this bus right now!" Kale had a point.

"Yah, but Carl wouldn't be a monster and Sylvia wouldn't be an orphan because Mom died," I explained.

"No. Dan would've beaten them to death. Sylvia would've been a poor skeleton and purple all over, Carl would be dead, and your mom would be hiding in a corner. Without you Gwen, they wouldn't have lived as long as they did. Don't you see? This was meant to be. To punish me, and to give you the strength to beat your bullies," Kale explained. That was like the smartest thing I think I've ever heard him say. My hands were shaking.

"All I ever wanted was to keep my family safe…" I mumbled.

"Well, you've done that!" Flair's voice sounded cheery. I looked over the top of the seat to see happy faces peeking back at me. Well, I never thought of that.

"This emotion crap is making me want to hurl," Melee grumbled. Everyone chuckled. My eyes met Kale's and we just stared at each other. I knew he was sorry. I really did, but it's not that easy to forgive. There's more to the story, but I can't say it. It makes my heart burn, and no not like eating nachos. Ryan's fingers laced in mine and he gave me a reassuring nod. I laid my head on his shoulder and tried to forget the memories.

"One…" I heard Flair whisper.

"Two," Ice continued.

"THREE!" They both cried. I smirked. This was gonna be a long trip.

"Dr. M&M I gotta pee!" Kale whined.

"M&M?" I heard Dr. M scoff.

**ok! Thanks for the reviews. I hope this explains y Gwen is being mean to Kale. And this story is no where close to finished. sorry, but as long as I have my reviewers I'll keep going**. :)


	49. Gas Station

**Gas Station**

Kale's P.O.V.

M&M stopped at a gas station and told me to hurry while she put gas in the bus. I climbed down the steps and ran inside. There were three guys dressed head to toe in black. I figured they were like Fang. As I passed one he pulled the black mask down closer to his face. A little odd.

Anyway, the bathroom was in the back of the store, behind the chip racks. I heard someone bark, "Put the money in the bag!" I kinda laughed at that one.

As I came back out of the bathroom I saw Alex standing there, trembling. It looked like she came in to pay. One of the men had her pushed against the counter with a knife to her neck. Alex tried to struggle, but nothing happened.

"Hey! That's not nice!" I shouted. The three strangers turned to glare at me

"What's wrong…?" I asked as I checked to make sure I wasn't dragging toilet paper behind me. And then I found it. My zipper was down.

"Oh, right," I grinned sheepishly as I zipped it up. The men still glared angrily. I saw the clerk hunkering in the corner. Oh, now I see what's going on.

"Uh…" I blabbered. My quick thinking screwed up, 'cause the first thing I did was tip a chip shelf over on one. Whoops? The next pulled out a gun and charged. I caught him by the hood of his jacket and threw him into the glasses in front of the store, he broke through easily. The third pulled a gun and shot. I dodged and ducked, never hesitating on charging forward and knocking him down. Alex fled to the bus. I followed, right after I grabbed a bag of Doritos.

"What's happening?!" M&M screamed.

"The gas! Hit it woman!" I cried as my foot landed on the first step. She banged her foot down on the pedal, hard, and I lurched forward. Finally I climbed back to my seat.

"Score," Melee nodded as she looked at the man unconsciousness hanging from the front window of the old gas station.

"Well, Im sure glad I went before that happened, or I would've crapped myself!" I exclaimed as I passed Jes the chips.

"Sweet! Fred, I got Doritos!" Jester yelled as he pulled Gazzy over.

"And this is what happens when you chug down eight Dr. Peppers at McDonalds," Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Uh huh, free food!" Jes said with a mouth full of chips.

"That's not legal!" Nudge pointed out.

"Neither is giving kids wings, but hey, we all can break the law," I chuckled.

"I'm never gonna go in a gas station to pay for gas again!" Alex vowed.

"Yah, we'll just steal it next time," I smiled.

"KALE!" Max scorned.

"What! Just saying!" I held up my hands.

We had a pretty peaceful drive. Jes and Gazzy were content with their treat, Melee was twiddling with something, Iggy was sleeping, Jace and Alex were drawing on his face, Ice and Flair were flirting (somewhat?), M&M was humming to an inexistent tune, Max was being a grouch, Fang was…being silent, Nudge was babbling about fashion, Angel was talking in my mind, Storm was talking about war strategies while Ebony just sat back and smiled, Ryan and Gwen were giggling and laughing, and the whole time I was glaring at them. _Go figure_.

**ok, so I know it's a filler. Anyway, I just wanted your all to know that there's a poll up for GWALE OR RYEN. **

**:) and to The Winged Nyan: I read every single review. There won't be any evident pair with Gwen. Thats the whole reason why she has two guys in her life. Gwale could happen…later…. **

**Now, go vote and so on! Review! **

**Oh, and read ****_my flock'_****s story. **

**:D have a great day and I hope to update soon :) **

**And uh, I too remember when this story was like 3 chaps long with only like 0 reviews. Who would've ever thought that it would've come this far? Thank you all for that and I won't quit this story until you all tell me to. Or if you get bored or stop reviewing. **

**Anywho :{ REVIEW!**


	50. Home Pt1

**Home Pt.1**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"When I grow up I'm gonna be a fashionista! Or a model!" Nudge squealed.

"Well, I don't know about you," Kale smiled,"but I wanna be a superhero!"

"I second that notion!" Jes chirped.

"I would be a bomb maker...or something!" Gazzy added.

"Maybe you should invent a gas mask!" Iggy gagged as he scooted a few seats back. Gazzy blushed and chuckled.

"What about you, Melee?" Kale mused a he glanced over to his seat partner.

"Mechanic," she mumbled. Well that was…new.

"A _mechanic_?" Ice snorted.

Melee threw the device she had been fiddling with to Ice.

"Big red button," she smirked. He pressed the red button in the middle and the device unfolded from its neat cylinder to an elaborate set of sharp pointy things.

"You made a Swiss-army knife out of a _fork_?!" Jace squeaked.

"And other things…" Crenshaw nodded.

"I'm keeping this," Ice said shyly as he closed it and tucked it in his pocket.

"I figured," she whispered.

"WHOAH!" Alex screamed. She pressed her face against the window and pointed.

"Good lord…" Ryan breathed.

Helicopters sprinkled across the sky. Big, black, mysterious choppers.

"Up wit da fists!" Kale ordered as he opened the back emergency exit.

"Martinez! Martinez! Valencia! Ella!" Voices blared over the radio.

"Aliens! _Aliens_! Give them the humans!" Jes panicked.

"Shut up, twerp!" Ice growled.

"It's the CSM! I can see the label from here!" Dylan explained as he peered up.

"Do you read?" The voice came again.

"Loud and clear!" Ella yelled.

"Follow!" The voice barked.

"Oh heck-to-the-NO! I'm flying up!" I snapped. This was ridiculous. Why would we just follow?! That's _stupid_!

"Yah, we can't just fully fall for that! Remember Susan!?" Fang agreed.

"Lets rock 'n roll!" I hurried as my wings spread an I threw myself out the back emergency exit. Fang followed silently.

"What are we going to do with two of them?" I heard Nudge sigh.

How about…worship us? Ha! Or…be our servant?

"Lets swoop up below the lead!" Fang said. I gave a swift nod before I banked left hard and twirled straight up. I gripped the landing leg and pulled myself to the entrance. I slid the door open and heaved myself up and in. The cockpit was near the front and the pilot glanced back worriedly. I scanned the interior. It looked _normal_.

"What are you doing, kid?!" A man shouted over the blaring wind.

"Making sure you're real CSM," I shrugged. He grinned and handed me his pass.

"You bird kids, always quizzical!" The man laughed.

Five minuets later Fang swooped in and gave the "_OK!_" sign.

"Alrighty…lets get going!" The man rubbed his hands together.

"Shall I tell them directions to the cabin?" A younger woman asked as she turned a knob on a radio looking device.

"Fire away!" The man nodded.

"Can I tell them that it's safe first?" I asked.

"Certainly!" She chirped as she put on a smile a handed me microphone.

"Sup guys?" I said slowly.

"Oh god! The aliens got Gwen! What is this world coming to?!" Kale wailed.

"It's not aliens you nimrod!" Ice's voice shouted.

"Slap him!" I sighed.

"On it!" Ryan laughed.

Then a loud pop echoed along with more balling and wailing.

"Ice _honey_! Not that hard!" Dr. M whined nasally.

"So…is it safe?" Flair asked.

"Totally," I answered.

"Where's Fang?" Max interrupted.

"He's…" I looked behind me and caught Fang staring at the younger girl. He glared with a disgusted look. I then noticed that the girls shorts were up her crack and her shirt dipped way to low. "…_looking at the scenery_?"

"It _is_ pretty! All the rolling hills _and_ forests _and_ farmland _and_ hay _and_ corn _and_…" Nudge babbled.

"Farmland! Got it!" I cut her off.

"Ok, now you're going to take a right up ahead…" the woman jerked the mic put of my hand and motioned me off. Well, I already knew _her_ panties were in a wad.

Thirty minuets past the _fourth_ hour of driving and we were winding up a mountain on a dirt road. I was somewhat questionable of the landscape. Then, speckled along the tree lines were little brown cabins. Oh gosh…we're gonna be country. Please no! I dropped my head in my hands and sighed. Why I stayed in the chopper the world may never know… but I'm sure that the farmers below would be glad that they didn't have a giant freaking helicopter in their chicken coops. Just a hunch…

***stares at ground and trembles* uhhhhh…sorry guys! I meant to update! I really did, but on Wednesday I got out of school and had a pool party and ate icecream, and on Thursday my family and I baled hay [in 92degree weather, throwing 50 pound square bales one after the other over our heads] and then we got in the car to go on vacation, and on Friday I was exploring and vacationing, and now at 12:00am in the morning on this beautiful Saturday morning I am so far back in the woods that there is ZERO wifi and I have ONE bar on my phone. So it takes me a while to update. Again I am REALLY sorry! I hope to update again Monday! I hate that there's no wifi and loading the internet takes forever! **

**Anyway, Team Ryan is winning on the poll by 1 vote, so Lampshades need to get with it. I'm taking the poll down on Monday and putting up the 'cutest couple' poll! Also, the theme song entrees our due Monday. I really love what you all have sent in :)**

**oh! And 'my flock' is now 'Bunnieswillkickyourbutt' so check out her stories. Along with the maker of Jes (Wingzforever) and tell her to friggin update! :D**

**until next time, SORRY! REVIEW! Thanks to all my new reviewers, favoriters, and followers! I am so thankful to you all! **

**And yes…this chap was supposed to a cliffy! Guess what happens…**


	51. Home Pt 2

**I'm so sorry, but this is going to be a whole lot of crap and boringness! Sorry :(**

**But uh I have to clear something up: MELEE is 11. KALE is like 14. There won't be KALEE or MALE- sorry that's kinda weird considering the age and all…**

**Home Pt.2**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"Holy…" Fang breathed. I glanced out the opening and saw the terrible sight for myself.

"Mayday! Mayday! Copter 2 down! Repeat! Heli 2 coming to an emergency landing! Crash!" A distressed voice screamed over the radio.

Everyone started shouting and cussing as we watched the machine plummet.

I was frozen. Then a dark streak ripped through the sky.

"FANG!" I called. He wasn't listening. Instead, he was soaring with great speed toward the helicopter.

"Shoot," I grumbled as I copied. It was loosing altitude fast. I landed swiftly behind the blades on the propeller. Fang was already there, trying to fix it.

"We're gonna need a master mechanic to get this done! The blades have come loose!" He shouted. We were both quiet for a second as realization struck. There was _no_ time. Everyone on this thing was gonna _die_.

"Heads up!" Kale's voice boomed.

"I heard someone needed a mechanic!" Melee dropped down with us.

"How did you get up here so fast?" Fang asked.

"We just…flew?" Kale smiled. He swooped below and suddenly the pace of the dropping helicopter slowed.

"Lets get the blades back on," Melee tried as Fang held them straight. She pulled out a homemade screwdriver.

"Kale? How are you holding up?" I yelled down.

All I got was a grunt. I tucked in my wings and bombed down. I found him below. He was red and sweating.

"Can't hold it much longer," he groaned. He had his back arched and the machine was resting on his shoulders.

"Oh..." This was not good, "Fang! Melee! Hurry up! Kale can't hold up much longer!"

"This isn't working!" Fang barked. The people inside were crying out in panic and fright.

I thought hard for a minuet.

"Ok! We're gonna get these people out!" I ordered as I left Kale and tried to get in to the inside. The people were screaming and clinging to the walls. There was five of them. Five panicky CSM workers. Now is the time when global warming doesn't mean squat.

I grabbed an old bald man and literally pried him from his seat and drug him to the exit and I tried to fly, but he weighed about 250 pounds. Yah, this wasn't working.

"Need some help?" I felt Ryan slip in behind me.

"Decide to join the party?" I chuckled.

"I'm going to die! Oh good gracious!" The fat bald man yammered.

"Calm down!" Ryan soothed as we both jumped out of the chopper. The wind whipped through our hair and whistled the same old tune.

"Open your wings! You are bird kids, right?!" The man wailed. I only rolled my eyes and we snapped out our wings last minuet. The man landed in a roll as we soared back up. I waved at Kale as we flew up, passing him.

"Alright, how about…" I looked around.

"Ahhhhh!" A shrill scream echoed as a woman in he fifties crashed into us.

"You got her, I've got him!" I screamed as I grabbed hold of a young brown haired nerd. We repeated the same landing. We shot back up and Kale looked terrible.

"I don't think…" he said.

"Only two more!" I interrupted. We then proceeded in grabbing a silver haired man who was rather tall and somewhat heavy. As we came up for the last sweep I noticed that the helicopter was dropping and that Kale was no where in sight. The chopper was going down.

It soon passed us on its way down and I saw a hand shoot up. Then a pleading face.

"No!" I yelled, but it was far gone. I tucked my wings flat and dove. I was getting close, close enough to hear the woman scream.

"JUMP!" I cried. The woman looked at me warily.

"Jump!" I came again. We were nearing the pancake zone. She pushed herself up and her foot caught a surface. She kicked free and leapt up. My hand reached down and it barely grazed her finger. She was dropping. Her tight lawyer looking skirt flailing as one of her heels fell of her foot. I reached again, but it was no use. She was going to die, and I would too if I didn't catch myself. I spread my wings and parachute up. I saw the pain and fear in her eyes as she realized that she was as good as dead. And I closed my eyes and turned away. But I didn't hear the sickening splat, nope. I glanced back and there was Dylan hovering with the frantic woman barely hanging on. He sat her down and shot me a thumbs up. A wave of relief washed over me, but we weren't done yet. The helicopter was still plummeting, with Melee clung onto the propeller.

"Let go!" Fang commanded as he followed cautiously behind.

"Never!" Melee sang as she swung inside the cockpit and grabbed hold of the controls.

"Get out of there!" Fang growled.

"I think I fixed it!" She yelped.

"I said get your scrawny butt out! NOW!" Fang was mad.

"Here goes nothing!" She smiled and then the blades began to spin and the wind was whipped around. Fang dodged a oncoming blade.

"It works!" I squealed.

"She doesn't know how to fly a helicopter!" Fang barked.

"Crap…" I sighed. Life just wouldn't give me a break.

"Wha's goin' on?" Kale popped up behind me, rubbing his arms.

"Melee fixed the helicopter," I started. Then the machine took a dramatic dive and Kale's eyes widened in fear.

"What is she doing?!" He screamed. She was crashing it into a lake!

"MEL! CRENSHAW!" Kale called, fear seeping in as the tip of the head of the helicopter splashed in the blue water below. Soon the whole metal monster was sunk and Kale was wading into the lake, searching for his friend. I copied and Fang stood back, watching.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" I heard her usual soft, brief voice cheer. My head whipped up and there she was, her wings flapping and her fist pumping.

"Crenshaw!" Kale cried as he shot up and wrapped her in a hug. She then turned back to her old 'cold as stone' expression and stiffened.

"Get off," she said quietly.

"When I tell you to get out…then GET OUT!" Fang stomped up and jerked them to the ground. He towered above us and Kale squeaked and hid behind me. Melee shoved her hands in her pockets and stared into Fang's eyes, completely unfazed.

"Yes," she said. He looked confused.

"That doesn't even…" he grumbled.

"What in the name of all things winged and good is going on here?!" Max's voice boomed. Now it was time for us _all_ to cower. The rest of the group came in a bunch and they were all piled with questions.

"Sweet! Kale you were all like The Hulk!" Jes exclaimed as he rushed forward and hugged Kale. Kale sat down and yawned.

"Melee! You really are a mechanic!" Gazzy grinned. Melee shrugged.

"What is wrong with you all?! You don't just…" Max rambled.

"Yes," I interrupted, "yes we do."

"That was very brave," one of the men we saved said as he walked up. His group followed.

"Thank you all so much! I thought I was as good as dead!" The woman Dylan caught squeaked as she fixed the bobby pins in her hair.

"You were," Ryan laughed. The woman didn't find that funny.

Then a cellphone buzzed and the fat man flipped it open and answered with, "Dr. Hawlur, Collation to Stop the Madness."

Then it was silent for a moment while Dr. Hawlur nodded and mumbled. He finally hung up and announced that the other three helicopters were landing to pick them up and that we must make haste and get to the bus to scavenge out a clear landing zone.

"Alright! Lets go!" Max called as everyone turned to follow to the big yellow bus.

I glanced back for a second to make sure everyone was following, but Kale was sprawled out on the ground and Melee was standing over him nudging him with her foot. He didn't wake.

"Kale! Rock 'n Roll!" I shouted. He didn't budge, so I stomped over there to find him in deep sleep with a sheet of cold sweat over his skin.

"Holding up the chopper must've taken a lot out of him," I sighed as I bent down and tried to pull him up.

"Fatso," Melee stated.

"Amen," I chuckled as I tried once more. Nope.

"Kale honey! Get your hind end up!" I poked his chest. He fidgeted and his eyes opened to a slit.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"On your feet!" I laughed as I grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him up.

"Im sleeping…" he groaned.

"Not anymore," Melee observed.

"Kale, help me here," I grumbled as I tried to hold him straight.

"I'm gonna be sick," he moaned.

"Oh no you don't!" Melee cried as he hunched over and coughed and tossed his cookies.

"Kale? Are you ok?" I asked a little more sympathetically.

"Nah…no," he whispered.

"Maybe Alex can help," I tried as I balanced him and helped him back to the bus.

"Gwen! What took you so long?!" Ryan screamed out the window.

"Kale," I answered simply.

"Whoa! He looks like crap!" Ice breathed.

Dylan came running and he had to almost literally carry Kale onto the bus.

"Kale? Are you ok?" Jes asked as he tried to climb over the seat to Kale.

"No, baby, Kale is really sick," I said as I pushed him back.

"What's wrong Kale?" Jes asked with a pout. Kale only coughed and his hands started shaking.

"Jes, back off a little," Flair smiled as she got up and brought him back with her. He was wedged in between Ice and Flair, and Ice immediately shot him the 'shut-up-twerp' look.

"What happened?" Alex questioned as she moved closer.

"He held up the helicopter," I shrugged. She put her finger to his forehead and closed her eyes.

"I don't know…what's wrong with him…" she whispered.

"What do you mean?! Can you help him?!" I started to freak.

"Idk! I just got this power!" She ran a hand through her hair.

"I just wanna sleep!" Kale whined.

"No, you gotta stay awake!" Ebony snapped.

"Gwen!" Kale yawned.

"So, is he like for real sick or just tired? Is he going to be ok?" Ella whispered.

"Im fine!" Kale assured.

"No you're not!" I hissed.

"Relax, he probably just overused his power," Ryan sighed.

"Yah, that's it!" Jace said uneasily.

"Does he have a expiration date?" Angel asked as she chewed on her nails. I grabbed Kale by the hair of the head and slammed his face into the front of his seat, making him utter an "OW!" and I checked for the black ink.

"He's clear!" I sighed, relieved.

"I think I know what's wrong with your friend," the tall man said as he came forward from he back of the bus. All eyes shot to him.

"Ah, I see. I'm a former…how you say…_whitecoat_," the man bowed a bit.

"What the f-reak?!" Ice shot to his feet.

"I assure you that I am completely..." The man began.

"Shut the he** up! I want to know what this man is doing on our bus!" Ice screamed.

"Ice!" Flair warned as he climbed to the aisle.

"We are in motion! Sit!" Dr. M barked.

"He's good!" Angel announced, but Ice glared at the stranger menacingly, but Storm yanked him down and out of the way.

"Thank you, sweetie. As I was saying I know exactly why he is '_sick_'."

"Don't keep us waiting!" I hurried.

"It's happened before, to one of my former test subjects. His power continued to grow the more he strained it. Your friend here has done just that and his muscle cells are mutating to keep up with his mind," the man pointed out. Kale shifted and closed his eyes.

"Well, they won't have to work very fast then…" Ryan mumbled.

"What happened to this experiment?" I questioned.

"He died," the man said bluntly. Kale's eyes flashed open as he bolted to his feet.

"What?!" We both cried at the same time.

"The child killed himself after his power grew at an uncontrollable rate. He couldn't touch anything without killing it, including a female experiment he had feelings for. The boy ended it," Than man looked pained as he stared at the ground.

"No…!" Kale screeched. He started to hyperventilate and his hands balled into fists.

"Kale!" I tried to calm him, but he was really upset. My poor Kale was scared.

"Kale, shh. You're not gonna hurt us. You aren't going to hurt _me_," I whispered as I slipped past Alex into the seat and I cupped his face in my hands.

"But…" he started.

"Kale! You're going to be fine!" I hissed. Everyone held their breath and watched in fear, except Dr. M who was completely oblivious as she tried to maneuver the bus around sharp curves and turns. He let out a breath and slumped against the seat.

"Sir? Do you know how much the boy lifted to make his strength unbearable?" Nudge asked.

"No, sadly…no," the man frowned as a tear slipped from his eyes.

"It just always has to he me!" Kale grumbled as he leaned his head on my shoulder.

"How long?" I noticed Kale's agony.

"Half an hour or so," the man mumbled. Kale groaned.

"Can I get an aspirin?!" He chuckled. Jes now broke free of Flair's iron hold and flew into the seat and wiggled in between me and Kale.

"Kale?" Jes whimpered.

"Jester," Kale grinned. It was fake, but way to keep it up.

"Now that you're strong…_stronger_…does it mean that you can carry me around?!" Jes smiled.

Everyone gave a phony giggle and we all went back to our seats, leaving Kale slumped over sleeping the pain away and Melee watching with curiosity. Jes, however sat by Kale and patted his head every once in a while whispering about how it was gonna be ok. The strange humans sat in the back…reflecting on how they almost died. Ice and Flair were arguing over something. Jace and Alex were whispering about cutting Jace's hair. That sounded impossible _all considering_. Storm and Ebony were just twiddling their thumbs. Nudge and Angel were talking about 'what went with what'. Iggy and Gazzy were being pyromaniacs. Ella was twirling her hair—consistently. Dr. M was humming and hitting the gas and every once in a while she'd yell at Nudge for making her have a headache. Ryan was holding my hand. Max and Fang were having the '_Did we start a family to soon?_' talk. Dylan was mumbling "yes". I was worried.

How much further could we go up this mountain?! What if another helicopter crashed?! What the heck happened to the last one?!

And the main question pounding in my head: _am I falling for Kale?_

**Yah I know it sucks**

**and now for the theme songs! Thanks to all of you all who've sent them in. And a special thanks to Bunnieswillkickyourbutt for helping me find a theme song for those who haven't gotten one! :)**

**Plot: Titanium by Sia and David Guetta (sent in by~The Winged Nyan) and People Like Us by Kelly Clarkson (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt) **

**Flair: Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt) **

**Ice: World So Cold by Three Days Grace (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt )**

**Fice: Angel With a Shotgun by The Cab (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt) **

**Ryan: Get Out of This Fanfic You Suck by Go Jump in a Bottomless Pit and Fall Forever (sent in by~The Winged Nyan) [LOL! This cracked me up! Warning:not a real song or artist]**

**Gwen: Light 'Em Up/ My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark by Fall OutBoy (sent in by~The Winged Nyan) **

**Kale: Im Just A Kid by Simple Plan or Beautiful Day by U2 (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt) **

**Gwale: Over and Over by Three Days Grace (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt)**

**Gwen, Kale, and Ryan Love Triangle: Battlefield by Jordin Sparks**

**Ebony: I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin (sent in by~Shadowfire123)**

**Storm: Awake and Alive by Skillet (sent in by~Shadowfire123)**

**Stebony: The Only Exception by Paramore (sent in by~Shadowfire123)**

**Alex: Shine Your Way by Owl City (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt)**

**Jace: [Just cuz me and Bunnieswillkickyourbutt couldn't think of anything else she came up with this :P lol] Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson**

** Jalex: Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips (submitted by~ Bunnieswillkickyourbutt)**

**Melee: Dancer in the Dark by The Rasmus (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt)**

**Jes/Jester: [ok this song is totally sad, but Jes came from a circus and was genetically turned into a walking, joking, rainbow, so you know…its sad] Clown by Emeli Sandé **

**If if you can think up a better theme song for a character then tell me and I'll add it to the list! :) plz review and say what you think of the songz.**

**And now... the winner of the poll... with 7 votes... winning by 1 vote... will be announced after the break!**

**[lol I'm just joking with you all!]**

**_Dorrito Taco at Taco Bell! Get some!_**

**And the winner is…*unfolds digital piece of paper* KALE! Kale is the winner! Long live GWALE and Team Lampshades!**

**Me: Kale, would you like to give a speech?**

**Kale: IM NAPPING! SHUT UP!**

**Ice: Well...it's someone's time of the month...**

**Me:*interupts* OK! Well review and PM! Voice your opinions and so on! Int he next chapter we get to see their real home! Sparks lupin and I-Am-a-kick-ass-Princess stay with me your OC's come next chap! :)**

**REVIEW PEOPLE! AND THANKS FOR GETTING ME PAST THE 150 MARK ON REVIEWS! I LOVE U ALL! in the non-creepy way of coarse. WHOOO WE'RE PAST 50 CHAPTERS! :{ :{ :{**


	52. Home Pt 3

**Home Pt.3**

Kale's P.O.V.

"Gwen, babe, what are you thinking about?" Ryan asked as he drew circles on Gwen's arm. I snapped out of my sleep and looked over at the pair. He smiled down at her.

"Oh…um…Kale I guess…" she stammered. He looked disgusted.

"Gwen…" he breathed as he scooted closer to her, "relax. I'm here. It's gonna be fine." And his lips crashed into hers and I had to watch. I closed my eyes and thought of ponies as a make out secession followed.

"I'm gonna die," I whispered.

"You and me both…" Melee hissed from the seat behind me.

The bus jerked to a stop.

"Alrighty! This looks clear!" Dr. M hollered.

"Well, it has been an honor to meet you all!" Mr. I'm-kinda-helpful-but-I break-bad-news said as he strutted down the aisle and off the bus. I sighed. I hated that doctor. That Whitecoat.

"Kale?" Gwen finally glanced over. Concern flashed through her eyes.

"That's my name! I think…" I put on a fake smile for her. She moved seats to sit with me, causing Ryan to growl.

"Are you…are you ok?" She asked as she ran her hands down my arm, I guess she was feeling for muscle?

"Fine," I mused.

"You worried me there," she whispered as she pushed some of my hair back off my forehead.

"You were worried? Yah right! You've been sucking face this whole time!" I laughed. I looked up at her face, blushed and deep red.

"You know you can get disease from that," I pointed out.

"Kale!" She hissed.

"Thats kinda disgusting…" I continued, just to agitate her.

"Shut up!" She screeched as she clamped a hand over my mouth. I only shrugged.

"Why would you say that?!" She asked.

"I'm just stating the facts," I grinned after she moved her hand.

"Kale, you don't even know what the birds and the bees are," she snorted.

"Try me! A bee is that stupid little bug that stings you when you accidentally step on it and a bird…I have a bird's appendage on my back!" I defended.

"You idiot," she giggled as she leaned back. I copied, but I twiddled my thumbs awkwardly.

"You know it's gonna be difficult when we grow up and you get married 'cause three of us will have to fit in one bed," I joked.

"I'll just," then she pushed me, "push you out!"

"And I'll just hold on!" I played along as I wrapped her in a hug. Then I froze and let go quickly, remembering my strength and what happened to that one guy…

"Kale…" she looked at me questionably. I noticed that my hands were in the air and that it looked like I jerked away because she was ugly, or smelly or something.

"You can't just never touch someone again," she stated.

"That sounded so perverted!" Iggy announced.

"Only _you_ would take it that way!" Ella scoffed. Iggy just shrugged and grinned.

"Yes, I can…hopefully," I gulped. She grabbed me by the hair of the head and pulled my head straight down. She stared me in the eyes an put on her 'no crap!' face.

"Don't be _stupid_, Kale," she growled. Then she let my poor hair go and quickly fled back to Ryan's arms. He looked at me and smiled devilishly. I frowned and gritted my teeth.

"Ok, kiddos! Our new home is just up this road!" Dr. M squealed. _Oh gosh…_

"Can we style it and everything?! My old room was _ah-mazing_! It had everything and all the colors matched. Ooh! Can I be the furniture designer?! Can I make us some new clothes!? There are like rags," Nudge blabbed.

"Max?" Angel called softly.

"Yes sweetie?" Max smiled as she looked back at the ten year old.

"I hope we get to stay here…" Angel said sheepishly. Angel had been alive for a decade, and she's probably seen more than me. More gruesome sights, more death, more pain, more…experiments…I shivered and cringed at the thought.

"_Thanks Kale, but Im fine…_" she said in my head…AGAIN! I squeaked and swallowed. That was weird.

"Look! Oh my gosh trees and little cabin! We have _neighbors_!" Ebony exclaimed.

"You all stay far away from them! I'm sure they're great people and they don't need us bringing evil in their lives!" _St. _M…whoops, I mean Dr. M warned.

"Great…were in the mountains…" Ice grumbled.

"We're hillbillies," Melee stated. I peeked over the seat at her. She had Jes pulled back with her.

"Kale! Melee says we can't play right now 'cause you're tired, but you and Gwen wrestled! I wanna play!" Jes pouted.

"Melee is a party popper!" I laughed. She shot me a glare, but it softened into a smile and chuckle as she let go of Jester.

"Kale?" Jes asked as he scooted into my seat, "Do you love _Gwenny Pig_?"

"What do you think?" Melee snorted. Jes looked up at me and then glanced around the seat at Crenshaw. As his big purple eyes drifted back to me I saw a slight flash of sadness.

"Why, buddy?" I asked as I gave him a noogie.

"Well, if you start hanging out with her then you're gonna forget me and Mel!" He explained.

"Naw!" I assured.

"As long as you promise…" he nodded and looked down like he was concentrating hard.

"I swear on your blue hair," I promised.

"Kale!" He whined as he crossed his arms over his chest. Then the tips of his hair turned yellow. "I can change the color of my hair!"

"Oh…hmm…" I pondered on it for a second.

"AND HERE'S THE CABIN KIDS!" Dr. M screamed. It was about two stories high, made _completely_ of wood with little designs carved here and there. It had a front porch with LOTS of rocking chairs and a porch swing. There were plenty of windows for easy escape and this place was virtually desolated, well excluding the whole '_neighbors_' part. The trees grew tall and they were grouped close. The grass was lush and long. As soon as she opened the door everyone scurried out to stare in awe at the beautiful surroundings and scenery. It was so…peaceful…serene.

"Gazzy, you can't pollute this forest," Iggy joked as he elbowed the blond headed, blue eyed, gas bomb.

"Zomg! A treehouse!" Nudge pointed.

"And there's _bunnies_!" Alex squealed as she clapped her hands and jumped up and down. Jace just grinned.

"Picnics Max! Remember that long forgotten picnic?!" Angel yelled.

"Right Ange, as long as we don't have to pick strawberries," Max smirked. Fang gave one of his creepy rare smiles and rested his head on top of Max's.

"This is so cool!" Ryan breathed.

"Nature!" Flair cheered sarcastically.

"Bears!" I shouted. Everyone fell silent and some of the younger ones lost the color in their faces. Even Jes.

"Bears?!" He squeaked.

"Yah, twerp, big, ugly, hairy…" Ice taunted as he held up his hands like a bear's paws, "BEARS!" Then Ice lunged at Jes, who was already screaming bloody murder.

"Nooooo!" Jester cried as he ran. Ice chased. Melee looked annoyed and as they passed her she grabbed Jes 'round the neck and tripped Ice, causing his face to smack into a fresh pile of mud, at least we hoped it was mud. He ate some-accidentally of coarse.

"Knock it off!" She growled.

"You're. Dead. Crenshaw!" Ice threatened as he climbed to his feet and wiped the muck from his face. Melee took two fingers from both hands and swiped them over Ice's forehead. She streaked the mud right under her eyes, like the football players, and shot a bold grin to the fuming boy.

"Try me," she yelled. His fists clenched and he charged. Melee's wings unfolded and she shot straight up, out of Ice's reach.

"Kids! Lets see the rest of the place!" Dr. M called.

"I'm not finished here!" Ice sneered.

"Neither," Melee landed perfectly, "am I."

"Incoming chopper!" Dylan shouted as he peered up at the blue sky, speckled with clouds. There came the remaining three helicopters, but only one landed. The others hovered before turning away. It was the one Gwen and Fang had flown to to check and make sure everything was safe. Out walked a woman with a low cut shirt and high cut shorts and a man in a suit and tie.

"My names Mr. Rawful, and this is my assistant Louise," The man said bowing and then gesturing to the girl, "How do you like this little piece of land we call heaven?"

"It's soooooo pretty!" Nudge squealed. _Oh gosh_…

"It's kinda small don't you think?" Max pointed out.

"Well, that's because it's for you Mrs. Maximum," Mr. Rawful explained.

"I don't go anywhere without my Flock!" Max put her foot down, but she was referring to the Flock, not us, not the Migration.

"Of coarse, they'll stay with you here, but for the rest of you follow Louise!" Mr. Rawful said cheerily, "And meet your n_ew friends_!"

"New friends?" Gwen mumbled.

"Follow me!" Louise smiled as she marched back behind the cabin. The Migration followed, leaving the Flock to settle in.

"Are we going to live in a hole in the ground, or what?" Ebony questioned as we saw that there was no house back here.

"See that rock face _way_ up there?" Louise pointed at a rocky place miles away.

"Barely," Melee frowned.

"Thats where you all are going to stay!" She chirped.

"What?" Ice asked hatefully.

"Right up there…" Louise began again.

"I know what you said," he interrupted, "but we aren't going to live on rocks."

"No…" she smiled and we all sighed, "you're going to live _under_ them!"

"What?!" Flair shrieked.

Louise took a big breath and started to repeat her sentence.

"This is bull!" Ice yelled.

"Just follow and see!" Louise called as she started hiking.

"But if we live under the rocks won't we be crushed?" Jes asked as he spread his neon green wings and soared.

"I was thinking the same thing!" I agreed as I copied and rose. Melee followed and soon the whole group did. Someone carried Louise, probably Dylan. We landed at the rocks and stared.

There was this staircase looking thing leading down into the ground. A metal stair case that lead to darkness.

"Down there," Louise said.

"We _are_ going to live in a hole in the ground!" Jace exclaimed.

"I'm not," Melee stated.

"It's not what you all think. It's an underground cave filled with caverns," Louise explained.

"Or a death trap," Storm crossed his arms.

"Or totally fun!" I screamed as I ran down the steps, tripping a few times in the pitch black darkness.

"Kale!" Gwen shrieked.

"Echo! Echo! Echo!" I yelled. The Migration raced in after me. Gwen slammed into me and I caught her. Only her big green eyes were visible, but they stared up at mine. My breath was taken away and my hands slid down from her shoulders to her arms, and finally to her hands. The whole time I was praying that I didn't snap her arm in half. She jerked away, but her eyes stayed trained on mine.

"Why yes! I just love this place!" Ice said sarcastically.

"Ow!" Alex cried, "I walked into something!"

"How are supposed to see?" Jace asked. Flair grew a fire ball in her hands and we all looked around to see a wide open area with giant rocks scattered here and there.

"Sweet," Ryan whistled.

"Who the heck are these people, Louise?" A girl stepped out, tossing her blond hair streaked in colorful highlights behind her shoulder. She stared at us, studying each of us like we were a meal.

"Selene, these are the kids Mr. Rawful was telling you about," Louise grinned.

"24! Give us some light!" Selene barked back to someone. Then the whole place lit up and another girl came out. Her hair was long and white and her eyes were apple green. A pair of white wings stretched behind her. Light came from her hands and traveled everywhere.

"This is Experiment 24," Louise introduced.

"Woooooooo!" A shrill cry came from above as the sounds of flapping wings passed overhead.

"And that's Sparks," Louise looked up. Dark ebony wings flapped. The girl's eyes were yellow and her hair was a dark brown.

"The one and only!" Sparks landed and stood in front of us.

"Hopefully," Selene sighed. Selene looked to be 15/16ish. 24 was about 11, give or take, and Sparks was ... 13?

We introduced ourselves rather quickly. Selene seemed hostile still, but she'll smooth over. She has the body of a model: tan, curves, everything.

"Wanna see the rest of this place?" Sparks asked as she bounced up and down.

"Yay!" Ice said dully.

"You're no fun," Sparks stated with a smile plastered on her face.

We toured the '_Bird Cave_' as they called it. The first big opening was where a little river/creek ran through. They got water and washed their clothes there. To get to the second opening we had to press ourselves against a wall and slide through a crack in the limestone stone wall. When we emerged on the other side we saw almost smooth floors made of the stone. Beds and sleeping bags were everywhere and bags of chips were scattered all over the place.

"Welcome to the crib!" Sparks laughed as she flopped down on a bed.

"This is so cool!" Jes cheered as he spun in circles with his arms stretched out. I silently agreed.

"We aren't done!" Selene said.

"Ri-ight!" Sparks remembered as she jumped to her feet and continued along the cave wall. We came to a open area that had rocky obstacles and stalagmites and stalactites as far as the eye could see.

"And this is where we chill," Sparks looked proud, and excited.

There were plenty of places for us to hide and take off. 24 kept the light up as she looked us all over. All of the sudden Selene popped up in front of us, arms crossed.

"You're magic!" Jes exclaimed.

"No twerp, she's one of those teleporters!" Ice snapped.

Selene nodded.

"And why exactly are you all here?" She asked.

"We came with Maximum Ride. Our old home was attacked…" Dylan started.

"Did you say _Maximum Ride_?!" Sparks interrupted.

"Yah…" Dylan said slowly.

Sparks squealed all of the sudden and unfolded her wings. She was soon flying over our heads and by the time we had caught up she was out of the cave. We followed, spreading our own wings. Louise was screaming for us, but we just continued. Sparks landed in the yard of the cabin and raced in. We did too.

Sparks hurried to Max, jumping up and down and clapping. Max stared, confused and Fang looked agitated. Nudge's mouth was running 60 mph. Iggy was asking who was in the room and Gazzy was trying to explain the scene. Dr. M was laughing and Ella was wide-eyed and lost. Angel was smiling.

"My names Sparks and this is my sister/friend 24 and the old grouch over there is Selene and I know all of your names 'cause I'm your biggest fan!" Sparks practically yelled.

"Oh…" Max gave fake enthusiasm.

"Are you having a baby? Oh my gosh! Look Selene, we're gonna have all kinds of new friends!" Sparks shouted. Selene only rolled her eyes.

"Why are they living here?" 24 asked.

"Well," Mr. Rawful came from upstairs, "Max can't crawl around in caves at this point."

"You all are living in caves?" Iggy asked with a chuckle.

"Yes," Ice almost snarled. Yah, he _really_ didn't like the idea.

"Aww! Little winged cavemen!" Nudge smiled.

"I am not a cave man! I **hate** caves!" Ice screamed as he turned and stomped out of the cabin.

"Ice!" Flair sighed as she shook her head, but he was to far gone.

"Ok, so there's like these rock things hanging from the ceiling and its cold and damp and mostly dark down there and you all have nice, warm, above ground beds. That sounds fair," even Ebony was griping.

"Oh come on guys! It's an adventure!" I, on the other hand, tried to look at the bright side...both _literally_ and _figuratively_.

"Yah, you can adventure on your own," Flair scoffed, "I'll be looking out for bats."

"I'm gonna show you all just how much fun it is!" I yelled as I stomped out the door and flew back to the cave.

"I have to see this," I heard Ryan laugh. Maybe I could drown him for fun…

As I landed and tried to enter the cave Louise came out and looked awfully unhappy.

"Where did you all go?" She asked as she dug her shorts out of her crack.

"We went to the house, and then we looked for the rest of your pants," I grinned as I pushed past her. She was dressed like a skank, and it disgusted me in a way. I climbed through all the obstacles and all the rocks. There were plenty of little nooks and crannies everywhere. Then I thought of it: I'd go swimming in the creek. But I didn't want I get my clothes wet, so I started shedding them off...right in time for the Migration to make a grand entrance.

"Kale's stripping down, cover your eyes before we're all mentally scarred!" Ice yelled.

"Nobody wants to see that," Melee mumbled.

"Relax," I smiled, "I got boxers." Then I jumped from the rocky floor to the freezing cold creek running through the cave. I didn't expect it to be that cold! I screamed as my head dipped under. I felt like a human ice cube.

"I-Ice y-you gotta t-try this!" I said through chattering teeth.

"Kale!" Gwen hissed.

"It's cold" Ice yelped. Everyone glanced over and thought 'not Ice too!'.

"That's our drinking water!" Selene screamed.

"Not anymore," Melee frowned as she patted Selene on the back. I climbed up the bank and scurried to get my clothes back on. The water was _freezing_!

"This is great!" Ice cheered as he laid back.

"Glad to see you finally _warmed_ up to the idea," Flair smiled. Ice jumped up, dressing quickly.

"He can't argue in his underpants," Alex rolled her eyes. Ice glared at her.

"So we need to get bed management down…" Selene began counting.

"Can't they just pick out a bed?" 24 asked.

"I guess," Selene nodded, "but that ones mine!" We followed her finger to a rather big bed with fluffy blankets. All the other beds were practically identical with an oak build and white sheets. One of the beds had 'Sparks' scribbled across the top of the headboard and the other had '24' carved in.

"Do we label our beds?" Ebony asked.

"If you don't want someone stealing it," Sparks shrugged.

"I call…" Jes started. Then everyone just walked to a bed and flopped down.

"We're a bed short," 24 stated.

"That's fine!" I grinned as I laid down on Gwen's bed.

"Are you two a couple?" Sparks asked.

"NO!" Gwen screamed.

"We are," Ryan said motioning between him and Gwen. They just had to pick beds beside each other.

"Oh, so…this doesn't make sense," Selene tried to figure it out.

"Um, we're just friends. I've been in the crate beside of hers since we were like 10," I added.

"Uh-huh?" Selene raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were switching colors. She was like a mood ring!

"What now?" I questioned.

"Quit it!" Melee cried. Her bed was beside mine and beside hers was Jes, who was now poking her annoyingly. She slapped him and he stood up and bounced on the bed.

"Wheeeee!" Jes yelled.

"Sit down, twerp!" Ice snapped.

"Never!" Jester laughed as he unfolded his wings and started doing flips. All off the sudden he was locked in giant ice cube that fell to the floor and shattered. Jes came out shivering and almost crying. Ice and his powers…

"Ice!" Flair smacked his arm. Ebony collected Jes and covered him in a little bundle of blankets as he shook and buried his wet head in her shoulder. She cooed softly to him.

"Guys! We're a family, we need to act like one," Dylan scolded.

"Can we be apart of your family?" 24 asked.

"The more the merrier!" I grinned. Everyone nodded.

"Welcome to the freak fam.," Melee rolled her eyes.

"Yay!" Selene said sarcastically.

As the night went on…it got very dark. That was an obvious, but really it did. Right after 24 fell asleep we had to use flashlights because her glowing hands cut off. It was cool and all, but Jes kept shining the flashlight in my eyes. He never fully dried before we all crawled into bed. Him and Ice have a wall between each other now. I guess they always did. Gwen and Flair were gossiping. Same with Alex and Ebony, Selene trying not to show that she was listening to it. 24 and Sparks were trying to talk to Melee. Ha, having a conversation is never gonna happen with her. Ice was acting like a jerk and naming off things he hates while Jace listened and told funny little antidotes about their old life to Ryan who was bursting with laughter. Gwen and Ryan were holding hands. Then we all cut the lights out to sleep and I pulled them apart with my arms wrapped around Gwen's middle and her pulled to my chest.

"G'night Kale," She whispered.

"Night," I grinned widely.

**Ok, so special thanks to_ I Am a kick ass Princes_s who sent in _Selene_, and another spectacular thanks to _sparks lupin_ who sent in _Sparks_ and _Experiment 24_.**

**Some more songs:**

**Gwen's old life: Family Portrait by P!nk**

**Plot: People Like Us by Kelly Clarksom (sent in by~Bunnieswillkickyourbutt)**

**-/-**

**Songs sent in by The Winged Nyan and _her_ reasons:**

**Kale: Blown away by Carrie Underwood- "I guess the lyrics remind me of what Kale feels like in this entire mess"**

**Fice: I knew you were trouble by Taylor Swift - "Yeah, they have trouble in the beginning, but they end up together..."**

**GWALE: Scream and shout by Will. and Brittany Spears- "Cause they're screaming at each other, and I'm screaming to get them together"**

**Melee: Diamonds by Rihanna- "She's as tough as diamonds" [_lol and same for Jace-my words :{ ]_**

**Alex: Cups by Anna Kendrick -" She was missed when she was gone and Gwen couldn't find her"**

**And for Ryan "(again), just because I have come to dislike you more"**

**GWEN IS TAKEN GET A LIFE by DIE DIE DIE YOU GIRL-STEALIN' BANANA-PEELIN' NAME I AM NOT ALOUD TO SAY**

**-/-**

**ok, so yah… also I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I think updates will slow. I've been RP'ing, that and this site like crashed yesterday for unknown reason. :( grr! And Im thinking about doing the backstorysies of some OC's (not Gwen and Kale), so tell me who you want "historized". Also, there's a new poll up on "cutest couple"**

**Now for the RP, which I _REALLY_ want you all to come and join in on. Even if you've never done it before it'll be fine. Come anyway ('cause its my first time too) you just have to agree with the rules and wait to be approved. :)**

**heres the link: **

** forum/The-Maximum-Ride-Experience/134962/ **

**Now come play! :D and review! **


	53. Redneck

**Redneck**

Flair's P.O.V.

I woke up to Jester's scream. We all jerked out of bed and smashed into each other in the attempt to find him. 24 suddenly had the place aglow, and we stared petrified at the seven year old. His face was pale, and he jittered like he'd seen a ghost.

"What now?" Ice whined as he rubbed his eyes.

"There was a…a girl outside!" Jes squeaked.

"A girl? Are you afraid of _girls_?" I questioned.

"That's probably Redneck!" Sparks chirped as she raced to the entrance.

"_Redneck_?" Storm asked.

"She's a neighbor, long story," Selene hurried.

We heard a goat bawl and we all looked at each other quizzically.

"Shut up, Marigold!" A voice snapped from the cave entrance.

Jes hid behind Ebony as we all inched our way to the "front door". There stood a girl, tan as a gingerbread, with her little orange goat nibbling at the hem of her shirt.

"Hey!" The girl screamed as she looked to Jes, "I saw you and you ran! That's not nice."

Jes looked to us for help.

"Anyway…my name is Redneck and this is my partner in crime, Marigold," the girl patted the goat on the top of the head.

"And I'm Dylan," of coarse he was the first to introduce himself.

"You got wings?" Redneck was chewing on a wad of bubblegum. Dylan looked stunned...we all were.

"What?" Ice asked.

"I know about you mutants," Redneck smiled as she pushed Marigold off her side.

I glanced to Selene. "She found out, don't worry guys. She's cool," Selene explained.

"We all do," Kale answered as he spread his wings.

"Knew it! More of 'em angels. Momma always says I have a guardian angel watching over me. Yup, I've got 'bout two dozen!" Redneck's country twang interested me. Kale had it too, but it was mostly covered up.

There was something strange about Redneck. She had big brown eyes and a ginormous personality, but she had no hair. A baseball cap took its place.

"Now, are y'all gonna invite me to breakfast or what?" She seemed a bit irritated.

"Yah, there's Maximum Ride's group in the cabin, so it's not really ours anymore," 24 sounded bummed, "so that means we're stuck eating campfire food."

"Nope, I bet Iggy is fixing breakfast now…" I interrupted. Redneck and Sparks looked to me.

"What are we waiting for?!" Redneck screamed at us as she turned to run to the house. We all glanced at each other, wearing confused/shocked faces.

"So this Iggy is a good cook, huh?" Selene asked as she jogged beside me.

"The best I've ever had," I shrugged.

"I'm gonna beat you!" Jes taunted Ice.

"No way, twerp!" Ice growled as he raced past Jester.

"Oh no you don't! Throw me Kale!" Jes ordered.

"Like my superman throw?" Kale asked.

"Yes! Hurry! I has to beat him!" Jester yelled. Kale picked Jester up and chucked him. Jes was soon flying across the sky, passing Ice and the rest of us.

"Whoa! Mr. Hulk over here," Redneck laughed.

Third Person P.O.V.

Iggy was making breakfast, hurrying through the eggs and toast. He flipped the last piece of bacon and set out the biscuits before leaving the kitchen.

"BREAKFAST IS READY AND IF YOU'RE NOT DOWN HERE IN 5 IM EATING IT!" Iggy shouted throughout the home.

Nudge jerked up straight in her bed. She rubbed her eyes and stretched.

"Nudge! Get up!" Gazzy peeked his head in her room.

"I am up! I just have to…to brush my hair and find my new slippers. You know, the ones with the cute bunny on them? They kinda match this shirt…'cause it has a fuzzy kitten on it," Nudge blabbered.

"I'm eating your pancakes," Angel's muffled voice came from the hall.

"Fine!" Nudge threw herself to her feet and rushed out to the rest of them.

"That was the best sleep I've had in a while," Ella mused.

"I think that was because we didn't have a bunch of winged children playing pranks," Dr. M smiled.

"Are you all coming or what?!" Iggy stomped up the steps, arms crossed.

"Calm down…sheesh, Igs. It's like you've never fixed breakfast before," Max rolled her eyes.

"I got a new frying pan! This one is actually _usable_!" Iggy grinned.

"Whoo!" Fang said flatly.

"I smell it," Max said, feeling uneasy.

As the group made their way downstairs chattering they heard a loud commotion. They quickly scrambled to the kitchen to see The Migration, and a few new friends, sat around the table wolfing down the food.

"What in Sam's dickens?!" Iggy blurted, racing in. The Flock jumped at the sound of a goat bleat.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Gazzy cowered behind Fang as Marigold jumped up on the table.

"A goat, duh!" Redneck rolled her eyes.

"Who's that?!" Gazzy clutched tighter to Fang.

"My name is Redneck...or Claire Symbrog...but call me Redneck! This is my goat Marigold," Marigold, at the sound of her name, bawled again.

"Get that nasty thing out of here!" Iggy commanded. Marigold charged at the blind boy and head butted his knee. Iggy yelped and sook shelter behind Fang.

"Demon goat!" He spat.

"I think it's cute!" Nudge squealed.

"You all ate all the food?!" Ella yelled.

"Well, it's not like we have a kitchen or anything in a friggin CAVE!" Dylan growled.

"Stop complaining! You're lucky you're not out on the street!" Fang shot back.

"Excuse you?!" Flair screamed. Fang folded his arms across his chest.

Max felt sick. Was it the smell of the bacon, or the eggs? She didn't know, she just felt queasy.

"Max? What's wrong? You look more uncomfortable than a 7-year-old boy around Michael Jackson," Kale noticed. Gwen glanced up from her plate.

"Fang, your wife is about to toss her cookies..." Gwen interrupted the boys' bicker. They looked over at Max.

"I'm fine…" Max coughed as she put a hand to her forehead.

"Fang…" Gwen started again.

"She said she's fine," Fang dismissed as he looked back to Dylan. Max propped herself up on the counter.

"Fang, she's gonna have morning sickness all over the place. It's the smell of the meat," Gwen tried again.

"What would you know?!" Fang was angry at Dylan, but he was taking it out on Gwen instead.

"I'm just saying. Between Carl and Sylvia I learned a lot…" she shrugged.

"I never had morning sickness with Ella," Dr. M added.

"Yah, well I always heard we Orksmiths are hard to hold..." Gwen smiled.

"She's fine! Stop acting like you know _everything_!" Fang sneered.

Then Max upchucked and everyone gagged and dropped their forks.

"Tried to warn you," Gwen shoveled another mouthful of eggs into her mouth.

"Whoa! She's like...physic!" Jes cheered.

"Or maybe she has _common sense?"_ 24 giggled.

"Max, Hun, are you ok?" Fang rubbed Max's back and whispered quietly.

"Take her outside. This place has got to air out before she comes back in," Gwen explained. Fang _actually_ listened.

"Maybe you should listen to your little sister more?" Iggy mumbled. Fang and Max sat outside for the rest of breakfast. Iggy finally got the courage to make his way back into the kitchen to "show the big mean goat who's boss".

"Where's my pan?" Iggy asked, about to scream.

"Oh, I accidentally burned a pancake to it, sorry Igs," Jace said as he tried to scrape the burned pancake off with a spatula. Iggy bolted forward and snatched the utensil from Jace and smacked him over the head with it. Iggy proceeded to recover the frying pan and remove the burned pancake. It was quite a show. Jace retreated to Alex and hid in his seat.

"Dude, how are you all still eating?" Ryan asked Gwen and Kale. The two looked up to notice that the others were to grossed out to eat.

"How long has it been since you all were in the School? The food there tasted _worse_ than vomit," Gwen rolled her eyes and took a bite of biscuit.

"Guys…do you ever think we're canables 'cause we eat eggs and we're like 2% bird?" Nudge asked as she slid into an open seat.

"12%," Gwen said. Everyone looked over at her. "We're 12%…12% bird." Gwen gestured between her and Kale.

"Big difference," Ice rolled his eyes.

"Why are you 12% and we're only 2%?" Alex questioned.

"Oh, because from where I had "excess fat" they decided to up it 10 percent to get my metabolism higher faster. It worked so they decided to try it on Kale and Dylan. It was perfect until they found complications…" Gwen began.

"But we can do this!" Kale smiled as he literally chirped like a bird. The room fell silent.

"Whoa…" Sparks breathed.

"Does that mean I can do that?" Dylan questioned.

"Yah! Just think of what you want to say and then just…chirp," Gwen explained. Dylan followed the steps and soon he was singing like a canary.

"Are you saying a poem?" Kale asked.

"How…?" Dylan began.

"We can understand...bird language," Gwen stated.

"That's awesome!" Dylan almost screamed.

Iggy was trying to make a good pancake. When he finished he held it on the spatula and offered it around. Marigold trotted up and ever so stealthy snatched it. Iggy threw a fit.

"Wow…do all of you have wings?" Redneck asked, just on que. Max and Fang came in. All the color drained from their faces.

"How does she know?!" Max lipped.

"Yup! Well, except Ella and Dr. M. They're like you, human," Kale answered.

"Kale!" Max hissed.

"She knows, it's fine," Selene calmed.

"How?! Won't she tell?!" Maximum freaked.

"Tried once, Ma thought I was bonkers. Now if I mention it she gets mad as a wet hen!" Redneck fed the goat her piece of toast.

"Oh-k," Nudge was trying to decipher the country phrase.

Ryan mumbled something to Gwen. Kale groaned and looked disgusted. Gwen glared at him and...chirped. Kale's jaw dropped, Dylan's eyes widened, and the rest of the group looked confused. Then Kale chirped back. Then it was on and the two began fighting between chirps.

Dylan whistled. "Dang, Kale. I'd shut up and admit defeat if I were you!"

"Aw shut up Dylan!" Kale snapped. Dylan jumped to his feet, the other two copying. Then it was an all out war of chirps. Arms flailed, fingers pointed, glares were sent.

Finally Gwen spoke English, "Redneck, Jester, and Angel cover your ears!" The littler ones did.

"Dylan, why don't you just sit your a** down! Kale find a freaking brain and f*** off!" Gwen cried as she stormed out.

"Oh, it's gonna be like that, huh?!" Kale shouted back.

"YES!" Gwen hollered.

"What's going on?" Max asked quietly.

"They have a bird language," Gazzy shrugged.

"Oh," Fang nodded. Dylan growled and sat back in his chair, wearing a grim frown.

"What were they talking about?" Ella questioned Dylan.

"You don't want it translated…" Dylan grumbled.

"Well, it was bad enough to make Gwen cuss," Ice observed.

"It was...nothing..." Dylan sighed.

"Maybe we should go check on them?" Nudge tried.

"I suggest not," Dylan mumbled.

"Well, back to my question, are we canables for eating eggs?" Nudge pressed on.

"Yes," Sparks nodded, "but I really don't care."

"What are y'all gonna do today?" Redneck asked.

"Hmm…" Alex thought hard.

"We're going to…go hiking through the mountains?" Jace tried.

"Yay!" Ice said sarcastically.

"Sounds cool! Lets do it!" Ebony nodded.

"Hiking? Really Winters?" Storm looked over at Jace with a frown.

"Oh! YESSSS! Can we Dylan?! Please!" Jester cried.

"Seriously guys?" Dylan crossed his arms at the idea.

"We can learn survival strategies," Ryan stated.

"Oh, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!" Jes begged.

"Fine! We can go hiking," Dylan grumbled.

"Yay! Lets go! Come on peoples! Hurry!" Jester called as he ran out the door.

"This should be interesting," Melee mumbled. The Migration wandered outside.

"Have fun hiking," Fang teased Dylan. Dylan's hands balled into fists.

"We will," Ryan nodded, pushing Dylan out the door. The group closed the door behind them. There in the yard stood Gwen, arms crossed lips pursed, and Kale, mouth yammering and arms flailing.

"Would you two chill?" Flair called.

"Truce?" Gwen held out her hand.

"Truce," Kale nodded and shook Gwen's hand.

"So…where are we going?" Gwen asked.

"Hiking," Ebony answered.

Marigold frolicked around, jumping and bleating. Redneck followed.

"Is Redneck…" Kale began.

"Redneck has cancer. The doctors decided to let her enjoy what she has left of life. Sparks met her about 5 months ago. The girl's a fighter and the one human I've ever met that is trustable. She's taught us a lot, we're gonna miss her when she goes," Selene explained.

"Where is she going?" Kale questioned.

Selene looked to him, sadness in her eyes. Kale froze.

"No…"

* * *

Ok, Im so glad you're here reading this! I'm so sorry for not updating. I'm on vacation and my family is distracting (they're about to kill each other over a game of Monopoly)

I got y'all's historize requests :) it may take a while for me to write them.

I hope you all caught the hint dropped on Redneck.

The bird kid's lives are going to be pretty simple and fun for a while.

Max has 2 months before the Epic is here.

Feel free to make suggestions :D

DONT FORGET THE POLL!¡!

songs: Gwen: Who Am I Living For by Katy Perry {submitted by GagaBear18}

{I could've forgotten some songs that you all sent in so tell me in a review!

THANKS! :{

* * *

Please come RP at The Maximum Ride Experience.

And check out GagaBear18 's new story Safe Haven.


	54. A Villain To The Prey Is A Friend

**Ok, so this is gonna be confusing to you all, so just hang in there. **

* * *

**A Villain to the Prey is a Friend**

Ox's P.O.V.

I stood with my group behind me, facing off to Night and crew. My arms were crossed over my chest and my teeth were bared. Chu stood beside us, clipboard in hand.

* * *

Night's P.O.V.

I had my boys behind me. We were having a stare off with Ox and his sissy group. I had a hand on my hip and my glare shot daggers. Jeb stood beside me. What is this?

* * *

Ox's P.O.V.

"You two are the best troops for capturing the Maximum and Epic. This is why I have brought you together. I feel that we have better chances of capturing the desirable targets if The Dark Angels and The Herd work together," Chu said calmly.

"WHAT?!" I spat.

* * *

Night's P.O.V.

"What?!" I shrieked.

"You two will work together to capture the Maximum, the Ultimate, and the Epic," Jeb explained.

"No we won't!" I put my foot down.

"Yes you will, you must to complete your mission," Jeb continued.

"Lets think about it, hmm Batchelder?" I sneered, "Two leaders in one group? Does that sound reasonable, hmm?"

"Yes, The Dark Angels will fly above and drop down on The Flock, fighting and eventually carrying the prisoners away," Jeb tried to explain.

* * *

Ox's P.O.V.

"And with Macto tracking on the ground, The Herd can make the first attack, leaving The Flock confused and roused. The perfect opportunity for capture," Chu added on.

I looked to Macto, ears perked and his golden brown eyes scanning over everything.

"So you're saying we're the Army and…" I began.

* * *

Night's P.O.V.

"We're the Air Force," I finished.

Chu and Jeb nodded.

I looked at my boys. All five of them.

Ghost and Gloom looked alert, they flanked me on each side. Phantom stood behind, his red eyes narrowed as he probably thought of strangling Chu and his merry gang of mutants. Carl stood acting older than what he was, trying to stand his ground. Our newest member was a clone fitted and shaped to be a Dark Angel. Dark Gazzy, we called him, cliche I know. He could mimic anything, or anyone. His hair was dyed black and his eyes shone red around the rims, a characteristic of us all.

* * *

Ox's P.O.V.

"Are we leaving tonight?" I asked.

"No, you're going to wait until Maximum Ride has the baby. Their defenses will be down and until then you will train," Chu answered. I groaned. _Train_? I don't want to train!

"Now you two must work together for this to work, do you think you can handle that?" Chu asked.

I chewed it over. "I suppose."

* * *

Night's P.O.V.

Could I handle it, hmm? _Maybe_? I gave a swift nod.

"It's a deal," Jeb smiled.

I felt like I just signed my soul over or something. How was this going to work, hmm?

* * *

**I** **know I suck. this chapter is confusing and it sucks, got it, but it kinda foreshadows and tells you what's going on with the evil peeps.**

**Ok, song thingie!**

**Ryan: Imaginary Lover by Atlanta Rhythm Section {submitted by guest: nuggetzor}**

**Now to answer The Winged Nyan 's ?: Yes these upcoming chapters will fall into the line of a filler. Pretty much everything up until Max has the baby will be a filler, and then the plot will start up again. **

**Now, speaking of Max's baby…I Am a kick ass Princess says there should be twins. Do you agree? I've put up a new poll where you can choose twins or no twins and pick the baby/babies gender(s). So go check that out :) **

**THANKS TO ALL MY FAVORITES/FOLLOWERS/AND REVIEWERS! Y'ALL ARE AWESOME**!


	55. Nature

**Nature**

Gwen's P.O.V.

"So…what do we do first?" Alex asked.

"Lets work on survival strategies," Storm tried.

"OH MY GOSH A SQUIRREL!" Jes cried as he raced to a tree.

We all did a face palm, _except_ for Kale.

"Where?!" He shrieked spinning in circles trying to find it wildly.

"Guys! Focus!" Dylan snapped.

"Are you all usually like this?" Selene asked Ebony. Ebony only nodded.

"Eww!" 24 gagged. She had stepped in a mud puddle.

"What's this growing on the trees?" Flair asked as she pointed to a green fuzzy vegetation on the bark.

"It's mold," Ice answered.

"No it's not," Sparks shook her head.

"Yes it _is_!" Ice growled.

"It's moss!" Sparks snapped.

"Everyone just shut up!" Storm screamed.

Everyone froze.

"We're going to work on survival tactics, got it? Now, I want you all to start a fire," Dylan ordered sternly. We all looked to Flair.

"_Without_ Flair," he added. We all groaned.

"Ok…we got this…" I nodded. Everyone just looked at me, "maybe we should find some wood?"

"Oh, that sounds difficult, considering we're in a freaking forest filled with _trees_!" Ice said sarcastically.

"Now…how to get the wood from the trees?" Kale asked.

"Dude, you're an idiot," Jace frowned.

"How so?" Kale asked, a little offended.

Jace reached up and broke a branch off a tree.

"It's magic," Ice smirked. Does his sarcasm ever come to an end?!

"That's not gonna work. That branch is fresh, it holds moisture so it's not going to be of much use," Alex, the brainiac.

"Storm…" I gestured to the branch.

"Oh, gotcha," he nodded as he pulled the water from the piece of wood.

"Ok, now…if 24 heats it with her light then it should go up in flames," I continued.

"Or you could do this?" Redneck offered as she pulled a match from her pocket and lit it.

"Ok Dylan! We made fire!" Selene yelled.

"Can I have those?!" Jes asked. Redneck tossed him the pack of matches. He lit one before any of us could get them away.

"Sweet," Jester watched the tiny flame flicker, as it reached the bottom of the match it caught his finger. He yelped in pain and chucked the lit match at me. It hit the bottom of my new blue jeans and I was on fire. I heard a shriek and I thought it was me, until Kale picked me up screaming and literally threw me into the nearby lake. I yelped when I was tossed into the water.

"What is wrong with you?!" I heard Ryan growl at Kale as I emerged from the water. My pants were burned to shorts that would make me look a whole lot like Louise, if you catch my drift.

"A lot of things," Melee answered for him.

"Gwen! Get out of the water! We aren't having a pool party!" Dylan scolded.

"You know what Dylan?!" I sneered as I spread my wings and tried to fly with wet feathers. I managed to land in front of him. "We just want to have fun. We don't want to live like scared little mutant freaks who only worry about making it through to tomorrow. Just let us live while the living is good."

"I second that notion!" Flair yipped.

"Fine, you all win, but if we're attacked and unprepared its on you!" Dylan grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wooo! Lake par-tay!" Sparks cried as she dove into the lake.

"Are you all stupid?! The water is _green_!" Selene warned.

"Now it's pink!" Jester grinned. Yes, Jes turned the water pink. It was pretty cool, I have to admit. I stood there watching everyone splashing around. Flair, Alex, and Ebony stayed far from the water.

"Come on!" Jace, Storm, and Ice called to them.

"I hate water. Water and fire don't mix," Flair stated.

"I'm part cat…go figure that one out," Ebony said. Storm splashed her, she practically hissed while Storm laughed his head off.

"Same here," Alex nodded.

Storm and the others just shrugged it off and began holding each other below water.

Someone grabbed me around the waist. I figured it was Ryan, until I looked at the lake and saw him prying Ice of Jace. I looked up to see Kale, his chin rested on the top of my head.

"What do you think you're doing?" I almost growled as I turned to look at him. He stared down at me, his big brown eyes almost shining.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked quietly.

"It looks like you want your lights punched out," I frowned.

He didn't respond, only pulled me closer. This wasn't going to end up good.

"Kale," I scolded as I tried to pull away.

"Please Gwen, just tell me why…" he whispered. I got loose of his grip to see the hurt pleading look in his eyes.

"Come on," I grumbled as I grabbed his hand and drug him further back into the woods. We were going to have to have a _long_ talk.

* * *

**Ok, there could possibly be some GWALE in the next chap, but if you all want it you have to review! Now, GO VOTE ON THE POLL! So far, 'No,girl' is winning with 2 votes and 'Yes, 1 boy, 1 girl' and 'Yes, 2 girls' are tied with 1 vote.**

**Now, another song thing:**

**Fallen Angels by Black Veiled Bride {submitted by: nuggetzor} **

**Ok, to answer The Winged Nyan 's ?'s.**

**1) No, I think Max is actually going to have the baby/babies, and Gwen is kinda to young to have a child and she has no powers so she kinda can't be the Epic. :( sadness I know.**

**2) Yes, I have. And there is going to be a problem with the baby's wings-THAT'S ALL YOURE GETTING OUT OF ME RIGHT NOW!**

**3) Yes, Gwen and Kale are getting left out. That's the point…kinda. Like you know how the story wasn't told by Iggy, Gazzy, or Nudge's P.O.V.? Well this is kinda what this is. A story told by an ordinary bird kid, so you can see how it would feel not to be in charge and in the center of attention. Its sorta how the "lower" Flock members feel and react to stuff. **

**4) ok, y'all can pick baby names once the poll is finished and we know what gender the baby/babies are. **

**5) oh, Redneck serves a purpose. She's here to teach that not all humans are bad (to Selene, 24, and Sparks) and to bring some happiness into play here. And then she is going to represent struggles and mourning when she dies, it will eventually circle back around in the plot later.  
**

**6) here's your answers-lol ;) **

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**OK! THANK YOU ALL** AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW FOR GWALE!


	56. Broken Kiss

**_Warning: I hate romance writing, so Im doing this for you all! Sorry if it sucks…_**

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**Broken Kiss**

Gwen's P.O.V.

I made sure we far back enough so people couldn't hear, then I let my words lash out at Kale.

"You're an immature moron, did you know that?! I have a boyfriend Kale! You can't just do that, it's _wrong_!" I spat.

"Is it? Tell me, why you don't love me, Gwen? One reason," he said sternly.

"Because you're a friend, Kale! _Only_ a friend," I screamed.

"How do you think relationships start?!" Kale sneered, stepping forward.

"You are so stupid! When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I don't love you!?" I shot back.

"Never," he growled.

"Ugh! You're ruining everything Kale! Can't you learn to just accept the fact that I'm with Ryan?" I crossed my arms.

"No I can't! He's loved you for like what, half a year? I've loved you for…" Kale began.

"Don't even go there!" I interrupted, "You didn't love me until I was crammed in a crate beside yours!"

"I know! I screwed up, okay?! I should've seen it sooner, I shouldn't have mistreated you when we were still human, but some things happen for a reason!" He yelled as he stepped closer. I backed up.

"I'm not tied to you by our past Kale!" I shook my head.

"Yes you are. There's a reason why you let me sleep in your bed. It's because you're scared…" Kale started to grow quieter.

"It's because _you_ are scared," I said, a little to sure of myself.

"Is it me, Gwen…" Kale said stepping closer as I backed up against a tree, "or are you the one wanting to hold on to your old life?"

I swallowed. Was it me? It _would_ make sense…

"That doesn't change a thing. I just don't want to loose you…that's all," I said as my hands rubbed against the rough bark of the tree.

He was inches away now, looking down at me. His eyes met mine and we stood for a second in pure silence.

'_When did he get so tall_?' I asked myself. Only months ago he was my height.

"I love you Gwen, just remember that…" he breathed. I almost melted under his stare. His hands slid down to rest on my hips and he came closer. All the air left my lungs as he leaned in and his lips pressed against mine.

'_Pull away!'_ I screamed in my head, _'Slap him! Do something!'_

The other part of me was saying, "_Tilt your head_."

I guess I listened to the second part, the romantic part. I reached up and my arms wrapped around his neck. He didn't react, only kept me drawn close.

'_What are you doing?! What about Ryan_?!' My conscious questioned. I ignored it.

Kale's wings spread and wrapped around us, cacooning us.

My hands slid down to his arms. My fingers traced the little hills of muscle.

'_You're sending him the wrong message!'_

The reality of it all sunk in. I'm kissing _Kale_!

I jerked back an pushed him away.

"Th-This was a mistake," I barely choked out before I sprinted away.

What had I done?!

Tears welled in my eyes as I raced through the woods, branches snagging my shirt and scratching my arms. I hurdled a log and sat down behind a bush. I dropped my head in my hands as my breaths came in short gasps. My hands shook and my heart pounded against my ribs. Confusion isn't even the word to describe this. I had no idea what was going on with me.

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**So, I suck at romance writing. I hate doing it. Hate it! But here it is for you all, so Im gonna go ahead and apologize for the poor writing and descriptive detail. Well, here it is GWALE lovers…RYEN lovers I'm sorry. This just isn't your chapter. **

**So…poll results so far…**

**No, girl: 2 votes**

**Yes, 1 boy and 1 girl: 2 votes**

**Yes, 2 girls: 2 votes. **

**So were tied! **

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**THANK YOU MY AMAZING READERS! PLEASE REVIEW AND VOTE! VOICE YOUR OPINIONS AND GIVE CRITICISM! You can even make suggestions of what you want to see in the next chapter…until next time this has been a terrible chapter by… User user :P**


	57. Big Mac or Caviar

**A/N: ok, I do not own McDonalds…and I don't think they would let this situation take place (later on in the chapter). So you can't sue, you can't scold me about Micky D's service and blah, blah, blah! The content in this chapter may be slightly mature (drinking, fighting, "partying"-not really, and etc.) so…continue reading this way long chapter :D**

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**Caviar or Big Mac**

Gwen's P.O.V.

It started to rain, hard. I got up and made my way back to the lake. Everyone was gone and Jes had changed the lake back to its original color. I spread my soaking wet wings and flew home as quick as I could. Luckily, I had caught up with the rest of the group.

"We just got done dropping Redneck and Marigold off at home," Ryan smiled as we landed.

I only nodded. Then I saw Kale. We had a brief moment of awkward staring before both of our eyes ventured to the toes of our shoes.

We all decided to go in the cabin to dry off. There stood The Flock, all dressed up.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Kale asked.

"Anniversary dinner," Fang answered.

"Of coarse," Dylan grumbled as he flopped down on the couch and began snacking on the bowl of cashews.

"So that means we get to party!" I screamed, a little to excited.

"Yes!" "Yah!" "Where's the karaoke?" The Migration responded.

"No, no, no," Dr. M interrupted our high-fives and cheers, "you all will be 'hanging out' at the McDonalds across the street."

All our faces fell to a disgusted frown.

"So…let me get this straight…while you all are downing caviar were munching on Big Macs?" Melee snarled.

"Well…at least you all can crawl around in the play area?" Ella smiled optimistically.

"Seriously?" Flair roles her eyes.

"Yes! Ball pit!" Kale exclaimed as he pumped a fist in the air and fist bumped Jes. I glared at him and he fell silent.

"Ok, this is _so_ unfair!" Alex said.

"How?" Angel asked.

"Uh, lets see…we live in a cave and you get a house. We're eating supper in a fast food restaurant while you get classy food. And…oh yah, WE'RE TREATED LIKE INFANTS!" Flair yelled.

"Amen, sista!" Sparks nodded.

"Well at least you aren't in cages?" Nudge tried.

"Oh my gosh! Hurry! You all go wash your faces! We gotta go to make the reservation in time!" Dr. M screeched as she began pushing us towards the sink.

"Gwen," Max stopped me, "what happened to you?" She gestured at my shorts.

"Oh…uh, we were working on survival skills and we had to start a fire without Flair and Jes got a hold of the matches. It burned up my good pair of jeans," I explained. She didn't look like he believed the story, but she let me go. I mean, I'm _not_ a slut. I wasn't wearing these because I _liked_ denim up my crack.

"Alright! Move it!" Dr. M barked.

"Yes, drill Sargent!" Storm yelled back with a chuckle.

"Could you all possibly be any slower?!" Max complained glancing at the clock.

"Probably," Ebony grinned.

"Ok, Gazzy grab the water gun!" Iggy ordered. Gazzy obeyed and aimed the water gun at Ice.

"You squirt me with that twerp, and you'll wish you had been shot with a _real_ gun," Ice warned. Gazzy dropped the water gun.

Finally we were all "clean".

"Alright! Lets go!" Dr. M called.

"I'm not going," Dylan said as he popped another cashew in his mouth.

"And a group doesn't leave without their leader!" Storm smiled as he stood next to the couch. We all did.

Dr. M put her hands on her hips.

"Get up Dylan."

"No."

-five minutes later-

"Ow. Ow. Ow!" Dylan yelped as Dr. M pulled him by the earlobe down the driveway. We all sighed.

"Everyone in the big stolen bus now!" She commanded. We all stomped up the steps and plopped down in a seat.

"I'm loving your shorts," Ryan whispered to me as he scooted closer.

"Yes, Ryan, influence her to be a stripper," Kale snarled from the seat across from us.

"Kale," I hissed, "shut up."

His eyes met mine and for a moment it was awkward as all the "Do I love him?" questions raced through my mind.

"How long till we get there?" Jace asked.

"Two hours," Angel answered.

"What?!" 24 shrieked.

"Everyone just remain calm…" Iggy said, teasingly.

"It's already 6:00, what time is the reservation?" Ella questioned.

"8 o'clock sharp," Dr. M mumbled.

"Then ya better gun it!" Kale shouted.

"Just what I was thinking…" Dr. M said as she hit the gas. We all clutched to the seats for dear life.

"Dylan, if we crash and die I'm blaming you for your stubbornness!" Ice growled.

"If we crash and die I'm blaming Fang for proposing!" Iggy added.

Dr. M turned a sharp curve.

"Weeeeee!" Jes giggled.

-one hour later-

Ryan was asleep, his head against the bus window. I had my eyes closed and was thinking about my little "episode" earlier today.

Something, or someone, sat beside of me. My eyes snapped open and I stared at the little devil pressed against my side.

"Two people in a seat, Kale," I grumbled.

"We could just throw him out the window," Kale pointed to Ryan.

"I already told you I didn't mean what I did!" I whisper/yelled.

"But you did mean it!" Kale shot back in the same volume.

"No I didn't! And I'm sorry for giving you false hope," I apologized.

"There's just no winning over your heart, huh? I'm making a fool of myself for even trying," Kale frowned. I could see the hurt in his eyes as he retreated back to his own seat and gazed out the window. I started missing the feeling of him beside of me. Like I had lost something. I _never_ had that feeling with Ryan…

I threw my head back against the seat and bit my lip. Kale…his name repeated in my head constantly.

I glanced over to Ryan. He was so cute though. I sighed and rubbed my temples. This was going to be a hard decision.

-1 hour later-

"Here we are! Get out!" Dr. M screamed as she opened the door of the bus.

"Sheesh," Ryan mumbled as we all stood and scrambled towards the door.

"Dylan, I'm giving you 200 bucks, this is for food," Dr. M said sternly as she crammed money in Dylan's hand. He only nodded.

"And Dylan," Max called, "you all had better behave."

"You watch your people, I got mine," Dylan rolled his eyes as he hurried down the steps. We all followed.

The McDonalds wasn't even new. It was extremely old and there was _one_ car in the parking lot. We all looked at each other wearing 'are you freaking serious?!' faces. The bus screeched behind us as it turned suddenly and sped to the fancy, jam packed restaurant behind us. We slowly made our way into the tiny fast food building. The man behind the register had his headphones on and was playing some game on his phone.

"Grab some tables," Dylan ordered.

"Sweet! Can I has ice cream?! Please!" Jester whined as he pulled on Dylan's arm.

"Real food first Jes," Alex reminded as she pried the smaller boy off Dylan.

"What does everyone want?" Ebony asked.

"Chicken nuggets!" Came the smaller ones' replies.

"Burgers!" Yelled the boys.

"Chicken wrap," Answered most of the girls.

"Food," Selene and Ice grinned.

"French fries!" Kale added.

"I got a better idea. What if we each just go up there and order our own?" 24 tried.

"Right," Dylan nodded. He walked up to the completely oblivious cashier and slapped his hand on the counter. The boy jumped and pulled his headphones off.

"Welcome to…McDonalds! How may I serve you tonight?" He chirped.

"We want food," Storm stated.

"Well, most people coming into a McDonalds do…" the boy frowned. He had a name tag that read, 'Freddie'.

"Ok, _Freddie_, I want a Big Mac, a number two, three large fries, and a large coke, got that?" Jace smiled politely.

"Um...is that all?" Freddie chuckled.

"No," Kale shook his head.

"Are you all feeding an army or what?" Freddie asked.

"Practically," I nodded. Freddie cracked his fingers.

"Lets get to it," he sighed.

After we had all ordered our food Freddie was complaining of sore fingers. I just felt bad because he was the only one here to prepare the food.

"Alright, give me about five _hours_ and it'll be right out," he joked.

We all sat down, except for Jes, 24, and Sparks, who went to play in the play area.

"So what are we going to do until The Queen and her loyal subjects get done eating?" Flair asked.

"Sit here, I guess," Storm shrugged.

"'Cause this is real fun," Kale frowned as he rested his head on his hand.

"We could just go home after we're done eating," Ebony tried.

"And we should like TP their stupid house!" Selene added.

"I like that one," Ryan nodded as he smirked at Selene.

"Or burn it," Flair smiled devilishly.

"Hey kid! What are you doing?!" Freddie cried from the kitchen. Jes was drinking Coke from the little ketchup cups. I sighed.

"Jes, honey, try a cup," Ebony handed him a medium paper cup.

"Oh…that's better. I was wondering why I couldn't get more than a sip…" Jes said in all seriousness.

"Kale, you need to stay away from that kid," Ryan began.

"Why?" Kale asked, offended.

"Because you're rubbing of on him," Ice laughed.

"Come on guys, I ain't that bad…" Kale frowned, "Now how do I get this straw through the lid?"

We all burst into laughter. I poked the straw through the hole and handed his drink back to him.

"Thanks," he said dully as he took a big gulp. I'm guessing he's mad still from the whole 'kiss and run' incident.

Finally our food came out and we were left with 30 dollars and a couple of cents.

"It's 10 o'clock," Alex sighed as she leaned against Jace and put her head on his shoulder.

"Where did Flair and Ice go?" Ebony asked.

"Over there," I pointed behind my shoulder. Of coarse the two were making out '_secretly_'.

"How much longer?" Jes whined as he came up to the table.

"I have no freaking idea," Dylan grumbled as he leaned back.

"IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT! THE COPS ARE GONE AND THE PARTY PEOPLE COME OUT TO PLAY!" A man screamed as he stomped in, toting cases of beer.

All eyes snapped to the door where a dozen or so 18-21 year olds came pouring in. I scooted closer to Ryan. Beer scared me, for obvious reasons.

"You're ok, Gwen," Kale whispered to me. I only nodded.

"Hey guys! _Finally_!" Freddie cried as he climbed from behind the counter.

"Yah, we kinda got a little caught up back there. Here's a beer," One of the guys smiled as he threw a bottle to Freddie. They turned the lights down and someone turned the radio on. Pop music blared throughout the restaurant. The smell of alcohol hit my senses and I was rigid as a rod.

"Gwen," Kale moved closer to me. I didn't know where Ryan went. "It's fine. Dan isn't here."

"I know," I said hoarsely. He pulled me closer.

Somewhere in the thirty minuets I was clung to Kale, Ice, Flair, Ryan, Selene, Jace, Alex, Storm, Ebony, and Dylan were dancing and partying with the 'Bad Boys'.

"Thanks, Kale," I smiled as I stood up. He followed me out to the middle of the McDonalds and we started dancing. Just rocking out…

"Ah man, you gotta swig one of these," One of the boys crammed a bottle of booze in Dylan's hand. Dylan took a sip.

"Gwen," Kale whispered.

"What Kale?" I asked a little more hateful than I meant to.

"Ryan is cheating on you," Kale said. I froze.

"Kale, I know you're desperate, but that's not the right thing to say," I frowned.

"He likes Selene," Kale interrupted me.

I glanced over my shoulder. Ryan stood there, his cup of Coke in hand, he was really close to Selene and he was cracking jokes and giving her that signature smile he gave me. But it couldn't be! I mean…Ryan is almost 15, but Selene is about 16! My thoughts swirled as I remembered all the times in the cave in the past day or so that he was talking to her instead of me. 'Maybe they're just friends?' I told myself. No. He's really flirting with her. I looked up to Kale and then walked away from him towards Ryan.

"Hey, Ryan? Can I talk to you for a minuet outside?" I asked him quietly. He almost looked bored.

"Ill be back," Ryan winked at her. I opened the door and walked outside into he cool summer's night breeze. I made sure no one could hear. No one was even paying attention.

"Do you love her?" I asked, looking at the parking lot instead of him.

"What?!" He asked, his voice cracking, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do! Selene. Do you like Selene?!" I spun around now, arms crossed.

"No…" he shook his head.

"Don't you lie to me Vasquez!" I snapped.

He finally broke down and nodded. My jaw almost dropped.

"Bye Ryan," I growled as I pushed past him and continued inside.

I walked right past my ex, the party, the people, the radio, my friends, my family, and Kale. I continued to the play area, why? The world may never know. I crawled inside and hid myself in a corner above the slide. I pulled my knees to my chest and willed myself not to cry. It hurt so bad. I loved Ryan, and now it was all over. I heard someone crawling in too. 'Probably just Jes,' I thought to myself.

"Gwen?" Kale poked his head through the little plastic tunnel.

"Go away," I said, my voice shaking. He didn't listen and made himself comfortable beside of me.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"I just…I don't know what to say," I whimpered as I leaned against his chest, "Thanks Kale."

He only wrapped his arms around me.

"Do you think this was a…a sign?" I questioned, craning my neck to look up at him.

"Maybe?" He shrugged. I rolled to my knees to face him.

"Why did it take me so long...?" I whispered as my eyes scanned his.

"What?" Kale asked.

I ran my fingers through his hair as I leaned forward and planted my lips on his.

"Why did it take me so long to realize I love you?" I smiled as I pushed back from him. He grinned too.

"'Cause you're slow," he chuckled as he pulled me closer again, his lips brushed mine.

"Uh huh?" I laughed playfully.

We sat in that corner for a while before we decided to go back out to the party.

Dylan was chugging beers, the girls were grouped together giggling, the boys were trying to break dance, the littler kids were still playing, Melee was watching it all, and Ryan was still flirting with Selene.

"Ah, dude! You're rocking this out!" One of the bad boy's smiled as he patted Dylan on the back.

"Ever had a beer before?" Another asked him.

"No," Dylan shook his head as he bottom-upped his bottle. The boys snickered.

Dylan was soon vomiting in a trash can.

I walked over to the girls.

"What are we talking about?" I asked.

"You missed it Gwen! Ice break danced!" Flair cackled.

"Oh my gosh! Seriously?!" I asked.

"Yah! He busted his nose too!" Alex added between hysterical chuckles. I looked over to Ice. He had napkins stuffed up a nostril. I giggled.

In the middle of our laughter one of the 'bad boys' strolled over.

"Hey, baby," He said, blocking Ebony from the rest of us.

"Wanna come home with me?" He asked while he slipped a hand down the front of her shirt.

Ebony's jaw dropped. Me and Flair acted fast, bolting forward and pushing the guy back. Selene picked a metal napkin holder up off a nearby table and conked him in the head with it.

"Storm!" Alex called.

But Storm had already seen. He bolted forward, grabbing the doubled-over player and threw him onto a table, back flat. Storm had the 17 year old's shirt collar between his balled up fist. Storm's free hand coiled and he beat it into the bad boy's pretty little face …_repeatedly_.

"Fight!" One of the guy's yelled.

Kale grabbed Storm by the shoulders and tried to pry him off the bad boy.

One of the other bad boys decided to take up for his "bro". He punched Storm. Kale tackled that guy to the ground and pinned him. Then it was on.

Another came at Ryan. Ryan smacked him. The next lashed out at Ice, but Ice threw him into the drink machine.

"Girls! Grab the littler ones and go get Max!" Jace screamed as he latched on to Jes. Jester was trying to get to Kale. Flair raced into the play area and fished 24 and Sparks out of the slide. Melee watched the fight with growing excitement. Alex had to literally grab her and run out the back door before one of the bad boys chucked something at them. Flair, Alex, Ebony, Selene, Melee, 24, Sparks and Jester got out, but it was a different story for me.

I was grabbed and tossed against the ordering counter. The guy who had me was about 19 and he smelled of booze and smoke.

"Take the cash!" I heard Kale cry. I glanced behind me to see him picking up the register and chucking it at the boy. It hit the bad boy in the face and he let go of me and fell, crashing to the floor. Kale grabbed me by the shoulders from behind and literally pulled me over the counter.

Once safe and hidden from the creepy alcoholic gang I realized that we were cornered. Ice, Ryan, Storm, Kale, Dylan, and me were hunkered down here, waiting.

"Where's Jace?" I asked, panic rising.

"He followed the girls…" Ice explained.

"What are we going to do?" Ryan asked.

We all looked to Dylan…who had his head in the trash can.

"That quarter pounder not sitting well with that pack of beer?" I asked with a grin. Dylan glanced up at me and shook his head. Then all the color flushed from his face and he had to go back to the trash can.

"We need a plan…one without using our powers," Storm started.

"That's kinda why we have Dylan…" I mumbled.

"I got this…Im not _that_ drunk," Dylan said as he looked over at us, "but you all might wanna come a little closer and put your ears back on…"

"What?" Ice asked.

"Ice! Stop screaming!" Dylan's words slurred.

"Man…thats the beer talking…" Kale whispered.

"I'm not listening!" Dylan pinched his _nose_ shut.

"Ok…well that's not going to work," I sighed. We all looked to Storm.

"Guess we're stuck following this guy…" Ice frowned.

"Me?! Why me? I'm honored!" Storm grinned and straightened.

"Let the air out of your head…we picked you 'cause you're the oldest and you follow Dylan like a lost puppy," I hushed.

"Well," Storm said standing up and throwing his fist in the air, pointing a finger towards the ceiling, "my first command as leader is to…"

"Hey! They're hiding behind the counter!" A bad boy cried.

"Get down!" The four of us who weren't drunk on power or beer hissed as we pulled Storm down.

"We need to think of something fast!" I almost screamed as we heard unsteady footsteps racing towards us.

"I got this!" Kale yelled as he clamped his hands together in the shape of a gun. He jumped up on the counter.

"BANG! BANG!" He screamed as he acted like he was shooting the 'gun'.

"He's got a gun! Everyone down!" One of the bad boys called as he swayed back and forth as he ran to a booth for cover.

_Well we know how many drinks that guy had…_

The others had to stop and stare before they figured out it was only a sad attempt to keep our faces unground.

We then decided to charge and just fight it out.

I heard Freddie on the phone…

() ()

(• .•) {I'm a rabbit!)

c ( ) ( )

Max's P.O.V.

This was a nice place. Calm, peaceful, classical music playing in the background… a seven coarse meal, Fang's hand slipped into mine under the table. We were safe and happy. Gazzy and Iggy were cracking jokes about how they never thought we'd get this fancy. We were telling stories of the old days. Some reaching so far back that they recounted the E-house adventures. We were so glad just to be able to prop our feet up, so to speak. Not like I actually let Iggy do it in the restaurant-_even though he begged._

"Alright! Lets make a toast!" Ella smiled as she grabbed her glass of low fat sparkling water-or something like that.

"Me first!" Nudge jumped up.

We all groaned.

"Well…to start off I guess I have to admit that I always thought you two were perfect for each other. Me and Angel always fantasized about you two growing up and getting married. Then we imagined that we planned the wedding. And then our dreams finally came true! We got those purple drapes and delicate gold decorations with little birds on top…" Nudge just went on and on…

"Can I talk so I can clank my glass and get back to stuffing my face, or are you just going to keep blabbering and burning my ears off?!" Iggy stopped her. Nudge blushed from embarrassment and sat down.

"Ok, first of all I just want to pat Fang on the back in the non creepy way, because I never thought he'd do it. He's so stubborn and slow that he couldn't even see what was in front of him the whole time. Then he didn't want to make it official until the time was right. Finally Gazzy just stood up and smacked the stupid out of him explaining that there was no 'perfect time' and that he just needed to suck it up and get down on a knee. The first few days before he proposed all he did was whine and practice. It was creepy. And then and the big day came, and me and Gazzy secretly watched from a tree. I'm glad we did because we saw Fang screw up real bad and loose all his 'macho act'. Yes, he broke down into tears ladies and gents. The emotionless Fang balled his eyes out and all he could get out is 'will you…will you…will you?'. Max finally just nodded. That was about a year ago…and look at them today…well not really much has changed except their having a kid and Max is a little more hateful…" Iggy seemed proud of his speech.

"Thanks Igs," I gave a fake smile as he sat down.

"Um…I guess I should say something touching now?" Angel stood, "I was so…thrilled when I found out Max had a ring on her finger, even though they tried to block it from me until they could tell us all at once. Then came the day we found out about the baby. I knew you'd be the _perfect_ mom Max. You were to me, you were to us all…and that's what we toast to, no worries, no troubles!" It was so precious. I almost cried, but I prepped myself for this and only said a silent 'thank you'. I could cry later at home in our giant group hug.

My mom and Ella stood up and talked about the night they found me. How it was such a _blessing_. Mom ended it by saying that Fang needed to be there for me and then she threatened to beat him to death if he ever did anything to hurt me or crush my feelings. That was…nice?

I heard Iggy tell Gazzy to get up and say something. Gazzy shook his head. Nudge smacked him. He finally stood up.

"Max. Fang. Max and Fang. Fang and Max. Yah…" Gazzy was bright red. He's never good with these kind of things.

"Gazzy?" I stopped him. He looked up to me with innocent blue eyes, "You can sit down." He smiled and plopped back down in his seat.

We all clanked our glasses together and continued with antidotes and our meal.

A little later a loud commotion came from the front of the store.

"Hey! Stop!" A waiter ordered. Then I saw some of The Migration come barreling through the store, knocking chairs over and tipping a tray out of a waitress's hand. I put my head down and hid my face behind my hand.

"Max! Fight. McDonalds! Now!" Flair shook me. I stood up and rushed out he door, beet red, my Flock following.

We got outside and saw cop cars. Lots of cops. We sped up a little as we crossed the road. We came close enough to see them dragging drunk boys, or should I say men, out forcefully. Then I spotted the police cramming Ryan, Kale, Ice, and Gwen into the back of one of their cars. I didn't think it could get worse until Dylan was taken out kicking and screaming.

"Sir! Get down on the pavement and put your hands behind your head!" A badged man commanded. Dylan pushed away from the cop. It resulted in him being tazed to the sidewalk. He hit with a sickening thud and the four trouble making winged beings crammed in the car shouted at the police. Mom gasped and covered her mouth. I was so angry that when they pulled Dylan up to beat him into the backseat I shot him a bird.

This anniversary dinner is ruined…

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**Ok…so long, boring, dramatic chapter here for ya! :) and I left you hanging! Not really, but anyway. The poll has gotten one more vote!**

***Yes, 2 girls: 3 votes**

**No, girl: 2 votes**

**Yes, 1 girl, 1 boy: 2 votes**

**SO GO VOTE!**

**Ok, now…um I got more reviewers and in sooooo glad, but some of my regulars didn't review :( anyway! This story is going to be EXTREMELY long…but I'm already thinking of a sequel…lol I guess I'm weird like that…Its really late right now when I'm typing this up-notice bunny and Other random crap!-**

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**REASON FOR NOT UPDATING: So last week I was on vacation as you already know and my vacation started picking up (not in funness). We went to like 5 state parks, white water rafted the wild an scenic Chattooga river (Deliverance was made here-"PADDLE FASTER I HEAR BANJO MUSIC!") (ps: a man died where we went rafting 2 days before we went…they still haven't recovered his body-eek!), and we went zipin (zip-lining)! So yah…I was gonna update on our way home in the car, BUT we hit a deer so yah. And now for this week…uh, lets see. I've been working with my cows (getting them ready for show), watching my horse-waiting for her hopefully first successful foaling-(I have to stay up until 2 o'clock am!), and then I just have farm chores. So…I pretty much told you this as a way of Hinton that I'm not going to be able to update as much…**

**And now im sorry for this long A/N, I know you all hate these!**

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**_THANK YOU TO ALL MY AWESOME READERS AND REVIEWERS! KEEP IT UP! :{ _**


	58. Jailbirds

**Ok, hi my people's! I'm glad that you reviewed and gave criticism. I love criticism, it helps me become a better author, but this one caught me on something, so we're gonna take it piece by piece, my comments will be bolted in brackets [ ]. This review is from: The Winged Nyan. **

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The Winged Nyan's review, here tiz! :

OMG! GWALE GWALE GWALE GWALE GWALE! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! **[LOL, You're welcome and I'm glad you liked it] **My incisive review begging has paid off!** [Yes,yes it has] **Good riddance Ryan, AND DON'T COME BACK! **[Ryan wants you to know he's deeply hurt…LOL who cares? Even though he's still pretty cool]** Anyway, the whole fact of making the Migration go to McDonalds was a little ridiculous.** [ :( ... Sorry?]** That was kind of mean and if I were in that situation, I would have just flown off and abandoned the Flock, or fought back**. [uhhh... You have wings?! Oh wait, I get it...lol I'm stupid...]** That was really unfair and I know Gwen has to stay with the Flock, but knowing her she would have fought back. **[Fought what? She doesn't _have_ to stay]** That whole plot to get them into McDonalds was kind of unreal and not well thought out. **[Well, i screwed up somewhere, huh?]** Plus the stolen bus was being driven on public grounds, and the license plates would have been picked up by a red light camera.**[Whoa! No! That was already explained in a prior chapter when they took the license plate from the old car and switched it with the bus's] **In other words, the chapter was not very well thought out and need I say sloppy**.[Im sorry for its "sloppy"ness] **However, love the GWALE and just need to think things through a little more**. [ok… thnx?]**

WOOSH!** [man, your fingers must be hurting...want a dew rag?]**

**••• ok, so this was my comments here...just so you all won't think I never read y'all's reviews. And thanks for your criticism :) I like reviews that actually help with my writing every once in a while, so oh well, strike one on me? Lol, on with the chapper ••• **

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**Jailbirds**

Kale's P.O.V.

We were driven to some jail place. They 'escorted' us from the police car and brought us inside a long, rectangular, cream colored building.

The whole time Ice was screaming, "I'm just a child!"

The nice police man took us to into a room where this lady came with a device that scanned us for weapons.

First Gwen, then Ice, next Ryan, and finally me, but the stupid thing started beeping when it reached my side and the woman asked me to empty my pockets.

I pulled out some bubble gum, an empty bag of Doritos, a ketchup packet, a straw wrapper, and a baked potato wrapped in tin foil from my jacket pocket. Everyone gave me a funny look. I only shrugged.

"Sir, we're going ot have to confiscate this…" the woman took the potato away.

Today was a bad day. And Dylan was no where in sight.

They made us sit in these chairs that spun while they asked us a million questions. I didn't answer because when they asked how we got to McDonalds I told them in our stolen bus. Gwen slapped me for that one…

Now we're sitting here in a hallway in those same old chairs, waiting for Dylan.

We saw the _bad boys_ go by and Storm almost attacked again. I guess he had some unsettled business with that one that violated Ebony's personal space.

Finally I saw a familiar face. We all jumped to our feet and practically ran to Dr. M. She started scolding us and hugging us all at once. Then came Max who stepped up behind, arms crossed, lips pursed.

"We've been here all night…" She stated. Angel peeked out at us from behind her.

"A darn good time for a mind reader," Angel smiled, "and even _better_ for a ten year old manipulator."

We all grinned.

"Where's Dylan?" I asked.

"In a cell with a _way_ to high blood-alcohol level," Max said with her arms crossed, "Mind to explain?"

"We'll leave that to him," Gwen said shyly.

"Here," an officer's voice rang through our ears. It was gruff and filled with a midst of boredom. We looked behind ourselves to see Dylan with two black eyes, a broken nose, and scratched to pieces. The cop took a pair of handcuffs off Dylan and pushed him over towards us.

"Thank you sir, may we leave now?" Max asked politely.

"You just have a few more papers to sign…" The police man said, looking to Dr. M. He led us further down the hall, Dylan not meeting any of our glances the whole time.

Dr. M veered off from the group and went into a room. Angel followed, gripping tightly to her arm like she was an innocent little child. The rest of us sat in some non-spinning chairs lined up in the hallway, except Max and Dylan, who were standing a little ways off probably getting into yet another heated argument.

"Look what you've done…" I heard Max hiss.

Dylan started to protest but Max cut him off.

"You told me you'd leave!"

"That was before I got about a dozen more members!" Dylan snapped.

"That is your problem Dylan. You said you didn't need me. You said you started your _own_ group, yet you're still living off me and my mother!"

"Fine! You want me gone…"

"You told me you were leaving! You're ruining my life, Dylan!"

"My group has saved your life!"

"I wouldn't need my life saved if it weren't for your group in the first place! You all wouldn't be here if it were up to me, but Mom doesn't want to leave children out on their own," Max whispered harshly, venom dripping from her voice.

Dylan just stared at her. He obviously wasn't all there. He was probably suffering from a bad hangover.

"We'll leave," he said sternly, turning from Maximum's glare.

I tried to act like I wasn't listening, but when I heard that my jaw dropped and I looked around. Apparently I wasn't the only nosey Avian-American in the room because the others had opened mouths and wide, questioning eyes. We sent each other worried glances. Then we shut our mouths and set our jaws. We each gave each other a swift nod- a coded message meaning: _don't tell the others and act like you didn't hear a thing_.

Dylan plopped down in a seat beside me. He smelled of upchuck, beer, and sweat. He had dark rings under his eyes.

We sat there in silence, mostly. Max told us we, excluding Dylan, were arrested for not being looked after or something. We were apparently just taken in to custody because our 'guardian' was intoxicated. The CSM hurried to make us fake birth certificates and adoption forms. Those, along with Angel's little mind tricks, got us out of custody.

Dylan, on the other hand, was arrested for a number of things: disorderly conduct, public violence, alcoholism, and et cetera. Dr. M paid bail to get him out. Now she's in there signing paperwork.

I still couldn't believe we were going to leave. I mean, yes we are our own group, but…_leaving_? Splitting up? I had to follow my brother…or his clone, anyway, I had to go with him. I always knew The Flock wasn't really connected perfectly with us, but heck we were birds of a feather. I tried to think of what Dylan could've said to make Max that mad. I guess Max looked at it like ripping off a bandaid, like Dylan needed to move on. She's been pushing him this whole time, urging him to move on. The Migration lived on the top floor at the mansion, we live in a cave now, and we don't go eat with them…it was all building a wall between them, Max stacking bricks, Dylan spreading the cement. It's sad that we have to leave just because those two have a grudge with each other. Dr. M was the only one trying to heal that wound. I then noticed how nice it was of her to let us live with them now, even if we are in caves. At least she let us go eat somewhere we usually don't get to go out to eat. I felt guilty for being angry and jealous of the Flock. I mean, this was Dylan's choice that he fell through on. I glanced over to the others, who were obviously chewing this over too.

About forty five minuets later Dr. M and Angel came out. The ten year old shot us a smirk and a wink. We all stood and walked to the bus in silence, other than the squeaking of our shoes.

Loading into the bus, Dr. M told us that we were lucky we got out. That we were very immature and we shouldn't have gotten into a fight. This provoked Storm's next outburst.

"HE HAD HIS HAND DOWN EBONY'S SHIRT!" Storm blared. He was a little agitated, tired, and annoyed, so I can get why he sounded angry.

Everyone just stared at him. Usually he was quiet and kept his cool but...

"Storm, calm down. It's going to be fine..." Dr. M cooed. Storm crossed his arms and grumbled about something to himself.

The rest of the ride was quiet and peaceful. Once we rolled up the mountain and into the drive way we started to talk a little again. Mostly thanking Dr. M.

Finally we got out and ever so slowly moved for the caves. Gwen decided to slap Dylan over the head and started babbling about how moronic he was and how he scared the crap out of her. He just mumbled something like, "Made me forget…" _Forget what?_

"Dylan, we heard what you and Max were talking about," Ryan said quietly.

"Great," Dylan spat, looking mad and annoyed.

We were quiet for a moment before Ice interrupted the peace screaming, "For Gods sakes! When are we leaving?!" We all just stared at him. Ice, yah now I get why he's called that. He breaks the social awkward ice.

"You all really think we should leave?" Dylan asked, stunned.

"Yah! I mean, you got to stop tripping over something _behind_ you!" I grinned.

"What?" Ryan looked at me like I just said that grasshoppers eat frogs or something.

"He has a point! You can't start a new chapter in your life if you keep re-reading the old one!" Gwen nodded. At least _she_ got my phrase.

"What do we tell the others?" Dylan asked.

"That it's time we go our separate ways…" Ryan shrugged.

"Well that sounds simple! What are we going to say: _Hey guys, we're leaving to go hike through the woods for the rest of our lives, oh and ps Dylan got us kicked out so yah, there ya go_!" Ice said sarcastically.

"Well, maybe after we talk to them they'll understand?" Gwen tried with an encouraging grin.

"Or maybe…" Ice started with his signature '_I'm gonna crush your spirit_' tone. Ryan slapped a hand over his mouth.

We walked to the entrance of the cave and heard country music blaring.

"BABY YOU A SONG, YA MAKE ME ROLL MY WINDOWS DOWN AND CRUISE!" Was that…Jace?! Oh my gosh it _was_! We stared wide eyed as Jace sang as loud as he could along with the radio, surprisingly it don't sound like nails on a chalkboard. Jace could sing country music! And then there was Alex, who was swooning over him.

Flair and Selene were dippin' and a swayin' to the tune, each screaming out the few words they knew from the lyrics. Jester was laughing and nudging Melee to rock out with him. Sparks and 24 were jumping up and down, 24 doing strobe lights. Then I noticed Redneck and Marigold, who were practically climbing the walls. Marigold was chewing on the bottom of Melee's shirt bawling her heart out. The goat had 'WASSUP?!' spray painted in neon green on her side. Actually the cave walls were spray painted in a variety of colors. Each member had signed their names. It was…AWESOME!

"This is…" Gwen breathed.

"The best thing since Vanilla Ice!" Ice finished.

Ryan laughed.

"What…" Ice shrugged, "gotta admire a guy who shares my name."

"Ryan!" Selene waved him over. And all God's people said, "Good riddance!"

"Lets go! Please Gwen?! Please please please _please_ PLEASE!" I whined tugging on her arm.

"Dang Kale! You'd think a bomb was about to go off or something!" Gwen frowned. I just tugged harder, jerking her off her feet and running onto the 'dance floor'.

"Jailbirds," Melee said simply.

"I think they're _lovebirds_!" Sparks added with a wink.

"I think you're a dead bird!" Gwen threatened.

"Says you!" Sparks cackled as she took off.

"Dance?" I tried.

"Try to keep up!" Gwen said mysteriously.

I only smiled wider. And then the song changed to We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus. I have no idea why this was playing.

"Ok. Who the heck put on Hanna Montana?!" Ice growled.

Long story short we danced for a long time. Not like the waltz dancing, more like the 'I put my hand up on your hip, when I dip, you dip, we dip!' kind of dancing. And don't you dare act like you've never heard that song before, I'm sure you've danced to it in front of your mirror with your teddy bear!

Finally the time came when we were plum worn out. Even super hyper Sparks and obnoxious Redneck were laying down flat on their backs staring up at the stalactites.

Ryan gave Dylan the tell-them-now look. Dylan wiped his hands on his pants, I'm sure he was shaking and dying a little on the inside. Storm and Ebony, who had been I-don't -even-want-to-think-about-it' ing this whole time, came out and found a seat.

Dylan stood and looked at us all. He took a deep breath and simply said, "It's time that The Migration walks its own path."

Everyone who had not been arrested that night had dropped jaws and a look of over all shock washed over them like a wave crashing down on a surfer.

"What does that mean…?" Alex asked, gripping a little tighter to Jace.

"It means that we are going to go find our _own_ mission…" Dylan shrugged.

"You mean _leave_…? Like leave the Bird Cave? Leave the Flock?" Ebony questioned.

Dylan nodded.

"But why?!" Jes whined.

"They've decided to live a normal life…" Dylan started to explain.

"And we haven't?!" Flair interrupted.

We were all quiet for a minuet.

"No," I said, disturbing everyone's thoughts, "no we haven't." Gwen slipped her hand into mine and gave a slight nod.

"Neither have we," Storm said, his arm wrapped around Ebony's shoulder.

"I still enjoy busting heads…" Jace shrugged.

"You all _need_ me and my power," Alex gave a small smile.

"I like freezing Erasers…" Ice shrugged.

"I go where Kale and Gwenny Pig go!" Jes chirped, squirming in between us. Heh heh, _Gwenny Pig._

"Fine! I'll admit it, I love burning those wolfy beasts and the nerds it lab coats," Flair sighed.

"Heck, we'll never be normal," Melee said as she leaned back, her hands folding behind her head.

"Amen," Redneck giggled.

"I'm _not_ leaving!" 24 crossed her arms.

"Me neither," Sparks frowned.

"We can't leave Redneck!" Selene explained.

"Baaah!" Marigold stomped her foot like she knew what was going on.

"Ok, we aren't _forcing_ you..." Dylan said meekly.

"Well...uh I guess I'll stay here with them," Ryan stated. Whoa…

"Sure. I guess we'll leave in the morning…" Dylan gave a fake smile, "so start packing."

Man, was that a weight of our shoulders...but leaving would be hard, and saying goodbye even tougher. It was time for the Migration to..._migrate_? Oh gosh that sucked, well until the next chapter of our lives: Live, laugh, love, and _lampshade_!

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**Alright! There it is! BOOM! Um, I taking the poll down tomorrow…so VOTE! And uh…REVIEW! FAVORITE! & FOLLOW! **

**Any other words here…?**

**Kale: LIVE LONG AND LAMPSHADE!**

**No…just…no.**

**Well anyway, keep up your awesomeness! C ya next update!**


	59. Goodbye

**HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! IT'S THE FOURTH OF JULY, AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY! **

**{those of you in other countries reading this story just smile and nod, 'kay?}**

**So, for the USA's birthday I'm gonna give you all another chapter :) (that I wrote waiting for the firework show to start, so forgive its uneventfulness and shortnes. ;) ) **

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**I got a review asking what the heck Dylan and Max were talking about. Let me put it shortly/bluntly/summarized. This was hinted, and will probably come up again. **

**Before The Migration grew so big, back when it was only Dylan, Storm, Ebony, and Flair, Dylan promised Max that he would leave and find his own mission. Well, then came Gwen and Kale and before you could count to three new members came pouring in, leaving Dylan overwhelmed and stressed. To top it all off there was the attacks, fights, and captures piled on by the School. Dylan's promise was long forgotten and Dr. Martinez, being the nice loving motherly figure she is, kept the groups together, using the CSM's help. Now that everything is calm and safe Dylan's promise resurfaces, and after his little "arrest" Max pushes it at him harder. Dylan agreed to leave...and never come back, taking The Migration with him. Dr. M, however, still supports The Migration and doesn't feel right just letting them go...but promises will be kept, leaving us here...**

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**Goodbye**

Gwen's P.O.V.

The morning hit hard with stomachs turning and thoughts swirling. Today we were leaving. We were _actually_ leaving. We were leaving the nest, and I didn't know how Dylan would do through this. Leaving Max was not his strong point. We decided last night that we were going to Miami, either because the boys like beach bunnies or the girls like shirtless men tanned and doused in suntan lotion. It's a win-win either way.

We grabbed our packs, which were practically empty, and suited up. We said goodby to Selene, Ryan, Sparks, and 24. Redneck spent the night last night. She hugged each and every one of us goodbye saying that Selene and the tiny group could come back to us once she's gone. That hit hard, like freight train caught me up under its wheels. Marigold said bye by biting Ice and leaving a little present on his shoe.

Those of us flying to Florida turned and sucked in a shaky breath, walking away from the cave and our old friends. We turned to go to the house and we ever so slowly ambled up to it. Dylan knocked and Gazzy answered, staring at us all like we were a military group coming to storm the house.

"Max!" He called. And then the whole Flock and The Humans were standing there stunned.

"You're really gonna go then, huh?" Max asked, her arms somewhat crossing over her belly.

Dylan only shrugged.

"Where are you going?" Dr. M asked, bewildered.

"Miami!" Flair said excitedly.

"That far?! That's a long flight! Have you all eaten? Where will you sleep?!" Dr. M looked stressed and panicked. I guess it's been a long time since the Flock was on the run and she forgot that kids could live like this.

"Um, yah that far. It's not that long of a flight. No, but we'll find something to snack on. We can sleep on the beach or on a roof or something," I said answering each question.

"We had to leave Ryan, Selene, Sparks, and 24 here. They'll be gone once cancer wins over Redneck," Dylan said bluntly.

"You don't have to leave," Dr. M began.

"Yes, yes I do. I'm going to keep an old promise," Dylan cut her off, sending a glance Max's way.

Dr. M looked like she was fighting with herself, but she eventually just gave up and stared at us sadly.

"So this is it," I said as I put my hands in my pockets. Fang nodded, showing no emotion. Did I feel bad for leaving my brother? Would I miss him? Well I've been looking for him my whole life so why don't you just answer those questions. I already lost Carl, _practically_, and Mom was in her grave at peace for once. All I had left was Sylvia, Fang/Zachary, and Dan. Lets drop Dan. So yah, family isn't _my_ strong point. I was going to hold on to the new family I had, even if that meant leaving a piece of my old one behind.

We all pretty much just said goodbye short, sweet, and simple. Dylan told us WSV: wings, sky, and the shape he wanted us in 'V' , and we took off, not looking back.

"Be sure to put on sunscreen!" Dr. M called after us.

_Yah, sunscreen._

In the front was Dylan, to his left Storm. The rest of us just fell into place. Kale sent me winks and stupid faces across the formation. I just sighed and shook my head. At least Jes was enjoying the idiotic faces. I could barely hear Alex shriek, "BIRD!" over the sound of his hysterical cackles. Dylan ordered us to angle up to avoid a huge flock of geese. Up we went, right into the path of an oncoming plane. Now we were scrambling to dive and duck out of the way of the massive machine.

I saw streaks of feathers dive down, and I copied. I managed one peek behind me, to see Melee just hovering there, watching. I instantly pulled back, throwing my feet under me and unfolding my wings. Stroke after stroke I rose back up, just in time latch onto Crenshaw's foot and pull her down. I was soon diving, the wind whipping my hair and causing tears to stream from my eyes, with Melee pulled close. Finally, I got myself stopped and I began panting. Crenshaw looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Close," she sighed.

"You're telling me! You just froze!" I exclaimed. She only shrugged it off and began looking for the rest of the group.

"Ice? Ice!" I heard a voice call. I glanced back to see Flair searching in worry for her sarcastic boyfriend.

"Yo Flair!" I waved at her and she looked like she loosened up a little at the sound of my voice. She shot over and started searching again.

"We can't see through these clouds!" Flair announced, exasperated.

"Maybe we should start screaming?" I tried.

Flair grinned devilishly and started screaming bloody murder, causing me and Melee to cover our ears.

"Whoa!" I heard what sounded like Jace yelp. Then a hand flew over Flair's mouth and she bit down. Jace growled and jerked his hand away.

"I hope you're not rabid!" He grumbled as he wiped his hand on his pants.

"Do you know where the others are?" I asked, hoping he had run across the rest of our merry gang.

"No..." He sighed.

"Dangnabbit!" Flair frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I guess we should keep looking?" He tried.

We kinda just zipped around, through the soggy clouds, and tried to stay under the current. I spotted three rather large birds. We hurried over to find Storm, Alex, and Ice huddled together planning something.

"Civilization!" Melee cheered. They spun around and the widest grins inched up their lips.

"Four down, four to go," Storm mentally checked something off in his mind.

"Um, guys, are clouds…_red?_" Alex asked, pointing to a cherry red cloud.

"JESTER!" Flair called as we all rushed over, busting through the colorful cloud with the highest expectations.

"Ooh! And make that one aqua marine!" Kale mused, pointing to another fluffy cloud. Jes nodded and concentrated real hard.

"Kale!" I cried, literally crashing into him in a giant bear hug.

"Hey Gwen!" He chuckled as he pushed me off his wings.

Jes giggled and did a loopy-de-loop.

"So now we have to find Ebony and Dylan," Storm said with a slight sigh.

"Don't over-work yourself there," I heard Ebony's sweet little voice carry a tiny tone of sarcasm, something very rare from her. Storm only grinned and shook his head.

"So now we have no leader…" Jace started.

"Hello! Right here!" We all glance down to see Dylan with his usually perfectly combed hair (he's really picky about it. I'm talking a whole hour just to make the "swish" go in the right direction) jumbled and knotted up.

"Oh my gosh! Your hair!" Flair teased, gasping dramatically for effect.

"Shut up," he rolled his eyes.

"Dylan," I almost laughed out loud. He looked so weird!

"What?"

"You aren't leading this time," I finish while shooting past him.

"Why?" He whined.

"Lets see…you lead us right into a flock of geese and then made us pull up in front of a plane, that's why," Ice explained as the rest of the group continued to fly forward.

"Whatever," Dylan rolled his eyes as he fished around in his backpack for the his signature black comb.

"Oh gosh," I heard him mumble.

"What?" Storm asked, thinking it was something bad.

"I left my comb at the cave."

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**And again, sorry for the shortness! Thank you all for your reviews!**

**The poll results came in: 2 girls! SO SEND IN NAMES, or maybe even a OC form for them. I'll pick the two I like best {but I might have to tweak a few things} and they will be the babies, ok? So you need a NAME, APPEARANCE (hair, eyes, wings [if they have wings] and etc.), SOMEWHAT PERSONALITY, AND A POWER! **

**So, get to reviewing and have fun :) **


	60. Hot, Humid, and Utterly Miserable

**Hot, Humid, and Utterly Miserable**

Gwen's P.O.V.

We were in Miami. It was beautiful and tropical, yet at the same time it was hot and humid. Most of us were wearing blue jeans, except me with my booty shorts-that I'm _so_ glad I have on right now. We were dripping with sweat and our stomachs growled annoyingly. We were baking. Ice was miserable. He started growing ice cubes in his hands every few minuets. We all glared at him, wanting some ourselves. Storm, however, was ok with the humidity. He said that he liked all the water around. We all just sighed and trudged along. Ebony watched the palm trees with curiosity. Alex, with her fair skin, was frying. Her shoulders turned red. The same with Flair, but she actually liked the heat. Jace literally wrung sweat from his shirt. Jes pointed out that there was an ocean. Melee was trying to act cool, but in this heat it was impossible. Kale walked along, grinning like a mad man. Dylan winked at a girl with bright pink hair.

You're probably wandering what's up with me. No? Well I'm gonna complain anyway. I'm being cooked alive! The sun's beautiful golden rays of _evil_ are attracted to my dark hair and I think I might just pass out. Kale was super close to me and I felt safe as we brushed past people. Jester latched on to Kale's hand and that's when I realized that I never wanted this to end. Despite the almost a hundred degree weather and the whole "homeless" factor things were perfect, and for once in my life I finally saw myself with a future.

"Gwen?" Kale whispered, leaning closer.

"Hmm?" I said, half distracted looking for possible Erasers. Call me paranoid.

"Remember that time in math when you had to be my partner..." He began.

"Yah sure," I said almost shooing him off.

"And I said that you were a freak…" he continued. I could feel his eyes boring into me, so I looked over infuriated with a hard stare that said 'shut up!'.

"I, uh, just wanted to say that I was sorry. And that we're _both_ freaks. And I think I weigh more than you now anyway…" he said. The way his brown eyes sparkled with innocence and a child like understanding made my heart melt.

I only gave him a warm smile and a simple, "S'ok." His grin never faltered as he took my hand and our fingers interlaced. I guess adding his simpleness with my complicated thoughts and actions made us balanced. We continued down the street to a rather crowded beach.

"No way," Melee said, crossing her arms.

"Yah, that wasn't a good plan, huh?" Dylan frowned as he rubbed his chin.

"No," Ice huffed, annoyed.

"We should try going to like a mall or something. I'm sure we can just walk around in there and eat free samples from the food court," Storm suggested.

"Air conditioning!" Almost the whole group cheered at once.

"The mall it is!" Dylan smiled, rubbing his hands together.

"I call the first ride on the escalator!" Kale announced.

"Nu uh!" Jes stuck his tongue out at him.

"Yah huh!" Kale laughed, teasingly.

Crenshaw did a face palm.

"Lets get going!" Ice snapped. We all turned on our heels and booked it across the street to the gigantic mall. Kale picked Jes up and they made a pact that they'd both ride at the same time. I rolled my eyes and followed the others into the building.

Tons of teens skipped around from store to store, mothers pulled their screaming children out of a rather sweet smelling candy shop, and voices boomed and echoed. This was...

"This is paradise!" Ebony squealed, interrupting my thoughts.

_Hmm...not quiet._

"Where to first?" Alex asked, her excitement pouring over.

"Um, maybe you all could just, like, go adventure?" Dylan tried. Gosh his leadership skills just aren't all there.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Dyl? Maybe we should eat first and stay together for safety purposes?" I corrected.

"Yah! Sure!" He smiled.

Storm looked to me, his glance saying _'This could be a train wreck_.' I nodded curtly in agreement.

"Free samples!" A woman hollered.

"Perfect," Kale stated as his stomach growled. I giggled.

"What? I told you I was fatter than you!" He laughed.

We all grabbed a sample from the lady, making her agitated and hateful. After finding the perfect seat we all just sort of sat down and savored the flavor of the piece of sweet and sour dipped chicken. Once we finished we were off searching for the next free sample person, ready to empty their tray.

Oh the joy of being a teenage Avian-American.

* * *

**I'm sorry that this is so short, but hey, I updated two days in a row! Next chapter will be about Selene, Ryan, Sparks, 24, and Redneck. Also, once the plot picks back up-after the babies are born- the fights will start back up and if you don't mind you character dying just tell me. It'll add to the drama. **

**Anyway, send in Fax baby OC's! 2 girls, remember? **

**Oh and last chapter I got only 2 reviews, this time I want at least 3, ok? Y'all can do it! And thanks so much! **


	61. No Worries

**No Worries…**

Ryan's P.O.V.

"So..." I said as I jammed my hands in my pockets. Selene glanced up from her tanning spot on a giant boulder.

"So what?" She asked rather hatefully as she climbed down and glared at me.

"Um...the sunset is in like a half hour, so I was wandering…" I started.

"Nice try," she laughed as she brushed past me.

I rolled my eyes and followed her back to the cave.

"Guess what!" Sparks shrieked as she dropped from some hidden crevice in the cave wall.

"You've finally decided to shut up?" I asked, hope ringing in my voice.

"Ummm…no. Dr. M said she was making cookies and she said that we could have one!" Sparks looked thrilled.

Redneck strutted into the cave, adjusting her pants and chewing on a wad of her signature pink bubblegum.

"Redneck! Guess what!" Sparks started again as she raced for the girl.

"Ok, if she has chocolate she's going to be insanely annoying and hyper," Selene literally popped up next to me. I jumped a little.

"You scared the frick out of me!" I breathed.

"What are you, an old grandma?" Selene teased, teleporting to the other side of me.

"Totally," I rolled my eyes.

"I know why you stayed," She mumbled.

"Um…yah…" I stuttered looking at her.

"I don't do hand holding," Selene said as she turned around, "and keep your tongue inside your mouth. I'm not French."

My jaw almost dropped. Did she just say…was it that easy?!

"Come on, Ryan! You're getting points knocked off!" Selene snapped. I jogged up to her.

"So are you my…" I started, but before I could finish she spun around and nodded. I smiled.

"Sparks!" I heard Nudge's voice boom through the cave, "Cookies! And oh my gosh they smell so good! Hurry before Max and Ella eat them all…" She said more, I just kinda ignored it and walked to the mouth of the cave, Selene following.

Redneck, 24, Sparks, and Marigold were standing there with Nudge and Angel. They all turned to look at me and Selene.

"Are you all coming for cookies or what?" Angel asked.

"I could go for-" I began. Selene just started walking.

"I'll take that as a yes," Nudge smiled. We all hurried after Selene. Then she just had to go and teleport up to the house, causing Sparks to order a race.

We all took off flying, except Redneck who wrapped her arms around Marigold and yelled, "GO!"

In the end, Sparks won. Nudge came in second, followed by Angel. 24 got there before me, but it was close. About thirty seconds later I head Redneck screaming as Marigold drug her across the ground at top speed. Redneck had the biggest smile plastered on her face and Marigold was booking it to the house. When the goat passed I pulled Redneck off her. The girl was bruised and scratched. She was caked in dirt.

"That was...AWESOME!" Redneck squealed as she pumped up a fist.

Just then Dr. M came out and got a good look at Redneck from the porch. "Bring her inside," she said with an exasperated sigh.

I frowned at the still beaming Redneck. She giggled and wrapped her thin little arms around my neck.

"I want cookies," she reminded.

I trudged in the house, rolling my eyes.

"What happened to Redneck?!" Ella asked, rushing over.

"Me and Marigold had a drag race!" Redneck grinned.

"Aw…come here," Ella mused, taking Redneck. The little girl was practically skin and bone. Redneck was small, petite, skinny, and tough as nails. Ella started washing mud and dirt off of the little girl and started cleaning and bandaging wounds.

"Any cookies left?" Sparks asked, putting on big Bambi eyes for Dr. M.

"I snuck a bunch from Max," the Doctor said as she turned around with a pan of cookies in her ovenmitted hand. 24's eyes widened as she gawked at the goodies. Gazzy turned around with a gallon of milk and started pouring it in glasses.

"Where is Max anyway?" Angel asked, glancing around.

"Her and Fang went on a long, _romantic_ walk," Iggy said as he walked into the kitchen, dodging Sparks's wings as she spun around in circles.

"Zomg! They're gonna get wet!" Nudge exclaimed, and within three seconds we heard rain pelting the roof.

"Can Marigold come inside?" Redneck asked. All of the sudden a white streak and loud booming thunder signaled the beginning of a major storm.

"Sure," Dr. M sighed, waving her spatula in the air as she picked the hot cookies off the pan.

"NO!" Iggy cried as Ella opened the door and the goat trotted in. Of coarse Marigold raced right for Iggy, who sprinted to his room screaming, "DEMON GOAT!"

Gazzy laughed so hard he spilled the milk everywhere, including on Nudge's new fashion magazine.

"Gazzy!" Nudge screamed as she pulled her magazine from the milk, "That was the new issue! I wanted to see the summer styles that are being worn on the runway! And this one article was going to tell me about a product that would keep the frizz out of my hair!"

"Sorry, Nudge," Gazzy said, blinking his eyes like he was innocent.

Meanwhile, Sparks was getting hyped up on cookies and 24 was right behind her, shoveling them in. Redneck chased after Marigold, who was now in Iggy's room. Selene, in all this mess, had made herself comfortable on the couch. She and Angel were watching Pitch Perfect, of all movies, and were currently laughing their heads off. Ella was trying to wipe the milk up, but Nudge and Gazzy were still quarreling and Ella just couldn't get between them. Dr. M had accidentally dropped the mitt on the eye of the stove, which was still burning for some reason, and it went up in smoke and eventually little flames danced over the fabric.

Dr. Martinez poured water on the mitt, causing the stove to sizzle and etc. The fire detectors started beeping and so on. I hurried and turned off the stove. Dr. M looked stressed. She looked at me and put on a shaky smile.

"Well, this is not what I was hoping for!" She said over the fire alarms.

"How do we cut these things off?!" I yelled, looking up.

"Fan the smoke away!" Dr. M ordered as she grabbed Iggy's apron and started flailing it under the little, annoying, round, demented device. After about five minuets of her flapping the apron and me waving my arms around, the beeping finally ceased. It left us plum tired and our ears were ringing.

Sometime in all of this, Max and Fang had come back. I looked over my shoulder and there they stood, staring wide-eyed at it all.

"Welcome back!" Ella giggled as she looked at their expressions.

"What happened?" Max asked. If you took in the scene I guess this could look a little like a mad house.

I mean, Selene and Angel were cackling and tears were running from their eyes from how hard they were laughing. Nudge was hitting Gazzy with a fashion magazine that was drenched in milk. Dr. M and I were screaming at the fire detectors and waving our arms in the air like morons. Iggy picked the perfect (SARCASM ALERT!) time to come sprinting through the kitchen, arms flailing, running from Marigold. Redneck chased after in her bare feet.

"Should I even ask?" Max raised an eyebrow.

"No," Ella shook her head.

"Maximum! You're soaking wet!" Dr. M exclaimed, "Go change before you catch a cold or something!"

Max sighed and trudged up the steps, Fang followed silently (big surprise) behind.

It was hard to believe that there was only a month left before that baby finally came, but I was a little nervous.

What did the school have in mind? Would they come for the baby? What happens if we're taken back?

There were to many questions…

Eventually we got everything cleaned up and Max finished off the rest of the cookies. The whole time Selene and Angel had been watching that chick flick.

"You all did great," Selene said flatly.

"Max!" Nudge whined.

"I told you Nudge, if you keep smacking Gazzy I'm going to feed him beans," Max said in her '_don't give me crap'_ tone.

Nudge groaned and tossed her magazine into the trash. Gazzy sighed, thinking he got off the hook.

"Oh and Gaz," Max started, causing Gazzy to look up, "you owe Nudge. Next time she goes to the mall you have to carry _all_ her bags."

"But Max! Those weigh like five _tons_!"

"Don't tell me you can't handle a couple of shopping bags..."

"Can I blow them up?"

"Absolutely not!" And that was the end of that conversation.

A knock came from the door. I answered cautiously and saw a boy standing there. A soaking wet boy wearing a cowboy hat, boots, blue jeans, and the rattiest old white shirt caked in mud and speckled with holes. A big white dog, what I guessed was a Great Pyrenees, stood beside him looking around with its brown eyes like it was inspecting me and the surroundings.

"Ryan! Who is it?!" Dr. M called.

"Uh...who are you?" I asked the boy, who was probably a few years older than me.

"Symbrog, John Symbrog," the boy held out his hand. _Symbrog_? That was Redneck's last name!

"I'm guessing you're here to pick up Redneck?" I said with a grin as I opened the door wider.

"Yessir," John Symbrog nodded as he peeked inside.

"Who is it?" Dr. M asked, coming to the door.

"It's John Symbrog, Redneck's older brother," I said, stepping back.

"Oh, hello," Dr. M smiled.

"Hello mam," John said as he stuck his hand out. Man this kid likes shaking hands.

"Um, Redneck is running around here somewhere..." Dr. M trailed off as she looked around, "Please come in."

"I'm kinda muddy and wet, mam," John shook his head.

"Do you see what I have to deal with?" Dr. M gestured around, "Now come in."

"Yes'm," John mumbled as he stepped in, his cowboy boots making a thud. Suddenly, the big dog lunged forward. Its paws were huge and its hair was thick. John started screaming at the dog, but the dog raced through the house on the trail of something.

"Bo!" Redneck shrieked from somewhere in the house. Then all you could hear was claws hitting hardwood floor and hooves clicking repeatedly. Iggy came bolting around a corner, Marigold close on his tail. Following Marigold was the giant white dog, Bo, with Redneck literally riding him.

"Whoa!" John cried, getting into the chase.

"Bo! Round up, NOW!" John ordered. Bo barked and jumped on Marigold, pinning the goat to the floor. In the mean time, John had jerked Redneck off the giant guard dog.

"Claire! Are you causing trouble?!" John sounded ten times older, like he was scolding Redneck.

"Naw, Hillbilly," Redneck put on Bambi eyes and blinked repeatedly.

"Aw, don't give me those doe eyes," John/Hillbilly frowned, setting the girl down.

"Hmph!" Redneck crossed her arms.

"C'mon, we gotta get. I got hogs to slop, ya know how that ol' sow acts when she ain't fed. That darn steer got out to the lower pasture, so I need to fix that thar stupid metal gate again. Plus, we got some Yankees wanderin' the woods..." Hillbilly explained, ranting on.

"Yanks? In the woods?" Redneck asked as she pulled Marigold out from under Bo.

"Yah, one of 'em looks...uh whatcha call it..._goth_? And the other is as round as she is tall. I'm afraid someone's gonna have to end up callin' the police department if I don't get out thar and find 'em in time," Hillbilly said in the strongest country accent I've heard yet. Bo growled deeply, hunching his shoulders and staring directly at...Fang?

"Oh," Hillbilly said bluntly following the dog's glare, "I guess the Yankees found their way home."

"Cool dog," Fang said simply, not giving off any emotions. John cracked a lopsided smile.

"Uh...thanks?" John shrugged, holding out his hand. Fang only stared at it and Hillbilly let it drop back to his side.

"I'm John Symbrog, or Hillbilly for short," John said..._again_.

"Fang," Fang introduced himself.

"And my name is Max," Max stated, standing up from her seat.

"And my name is…" Nudge leapt up.

"Lemme guess. You're Nudge?" Hillbilly cut her off.

"How did you know?" She breathed.

"Redneck told me about y'all. Plus, I've seen y'all's wings once or twice," Hillbilly shrugged.

"What?! How?!" Max demanded.

"I hike around trough the woods and stuff. I see almost everything that goes on. I know these sticks like the back of my hand, and when I started finding abnormally large feathers I just had to investigate," Hillbilly grinned wider like he had really accomplished something, "Besides, Redneck talks about y'all all the time."

"Oh, you're like one of those..." Nudge started.

"Hillbillies," Gazzy finished for her.

Hillbilly nodded.

"Hillbilly! I don't wanna leave," Redneck pouted.

"But you gotta go see that Chinese doctor **(A/N: hint hint!)**," Hillbilly frowned.

"Can I stay a little longer?" Redneck pleaded.

"Only if it's alright with yer friends," Hillbilly said sternly. Redneck looked to Dr. M.

"Yes, of coarse she can stay! Please, um, take a seat, John," Dr. M smiled. Redneck squealed and rushed back into the living room, followed by the others. Max and Fang stayed with Dr. M and "Hillbilly".

Hillbilly sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and looked like he was trying to calm down.

"I see what you have to deal with there," Max said with a laugh.

"Yah...it's defiantly a challenge sometimes," Hillbilly shrugged.

"So are you...do you feel... Her cancer-I mean," Dr. M tried to find the words.

"Uh, if you wanna know about her cancer all you gotta do is ask," Hillbilly said softly.

Why was I standing here? I looked down at myself. I was leaning on the wall at the entrance of the living room, snooping.

"How is your mother doing through all of this? Does she need any help...?" Dr. M looked concerned. Hillbilly chuckled coldly.

"Sorry, excuse me. That was rude," he apologized politely, "My mother _only_ comes home on Sundays."

"Oh...um...what do you do the rest of the week?" Dr. M asked.

"Work the farm, tend to Redneck, pay the bills, and every once in a while I work graveyard at 7up," Hillbilly listed his chores off. Dr. M and Max shot each other looks of something mixed with pity and questioning.

"You have a farm? That must be cool. Does your dad help you?" Max questioned.

"Daddy left us when he found out Redneck had cancer," Hillbilly sucked in a sharp breath trying to dodge tears, "He never came back. Never sent money. He left Momma and me laying in a sea of unpaid bills with barely enough money to afford Redneck's treatment. I guess that's when Momma lost Jesus and the Symbrog's whole world went in a downhill spiral."

They all stood speechless for a moment.

"I'm so sorry. That must've been a terrible hardship placed on your shoulders," Dr. M almost whispered.

"The Good Lord is just testin' us. We just gotta set our feet and fight through it," Hillbilly shrugged.

"You have to be stressed and worried," Max stated.

"I can't tell ya how many times I found myself on my knees in the fence row, prayin'. When I was little, that first year Daddy left us, I used to ask God why. I used to beg Him to take me instead," Hillbilly tried to speak, but he got choked up.

"What did you do to fight through it all?" Dr. M questioned.

"I just take the tractor another round, and pull the plow across the ground. Send up another prayer **(A/N: and if you can tell me what song that quote came from I'll update again on the 16th!)**," Hillbilly said, regaining his smile, "I just callus my hands harder, rotate more crops, and hold on."

"Life is tough sometimes..." Fang said, causing everyone's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Yah, and we're all a' fightin' to keep our head above water," Hillbilly added. The four spent a minuet nodding and letting it all sink in.

"Well...I better get a' goin. Thank y'all for letting Redneck get some happiness in this little tussle we call life," Hillbilly grinned as he glanced over the three. The poor kid.

"It was no problem," Dr. M smiled warmly.

"Yah, it was like having a comedy theater in our house," Max added.

"Bo," Hillbilly glanced down at the dog, "Round up!" Bo bolted for Redneck.

"Aw! So soon?" Redneck whined as Bo nudged her forward with his nose.

"Yup, it's time to go home, little ankle bitter," Hillbilly smiled as he picked Redneck up.

"You're so mean!" Redneck frowned as she beat her fists playfully into Hillbilly's chest.

"Oh ow!" Hillbilly played along.

Redneck giggled.

"Say bye," Hillbilly reminded as he set her down.

"Bye y'all! I'll come back tomorrow!" Redneck smiled and waved.

Marigold bleated, causing Iggy to step back. The moment didn't last long. Bo barked and Marigold ran out the door, the dog chasing.

"No Bo!" Redneck cried as she slid from Hillbilly's farmer tanned arms and hurried after her goat.

"See y'all 'round," Hillbilly smiled neighborly and rushed after his sister. He had the matching brown eyes and his hair was wild and brown, a cowboy hat on top forcing it to stay down.

"John! You left your bucket of blackberries!" Dr. M called after him. He must've been in the woods picking blackberries cause sure enough there was an old beaten pail filled with fruit on our door step.

"Keep 'em! Redneck can't eat 'em anyway 'cause it makes her stomach hurt. I don't wanna have to be up all night tryin' to cram a spoon full of Pepto Bismo down her throat!" Hillbilly yelled over the sound of his boots hitting the ground in continuous thuds.

And with that the two were gone, running into the woods to hurry down the winding trail to their home, rain pelting the whole way.

**_•_**

**-**_ONE MONTH LATER_**-**

**•**

Redneck never did come back.

That evening when John took her home and got her all cleaned up he took her to her appointment.

The doctor said that she was getting worse and that they couldn't let her play anymore. Redneck was bed ridden and within two weeks she had become increasingly ill. She was sick with dark rings under her eyes and she started dropping weight fast.

We went to see her everyday, even though we all felt extremely uncomfortable in hospitals. Redneck talked about the little fun she had with us, and every time we went to visit she'd always ask Iggy how Marigold was doing. He'd always just give a chuckle and say that she was acting as well as a demon goat could.

Often, we would all sit around and play cards or watch a movie on the little hospital TV. We'd stay long enough for Hillbilly to leave and get his farm work done. These past four weeks we've only seen Redneck's mom once, and we only spoke for fifteen minuets before she "had to rush" and "go back to work". Dr. M found Hillbilly crying a couple times when Redneck fell asleep. She told him everything was going to be fine and that it was like the tide was just coming in, and eventually the tide would be pulled back out. He'd always try to act real polite and put on a grin. The grin was fake. We all knew on the inside he was crying.

Redneck started to recall the times when we partied in the cave and hiked through the woods. It was sad to see such a bubbly personality and energetic kid turn into a skeleton and be left a shell of her old self. Dr. M cooked goodies everyday and brought them to her. Redneck ate all that she could keep down. We didn't see her doctor. He wasn't ever "in". Hillbilly said that he was really smart and capable. Hillbilly even credited the man for keeping Redneck alive this long.

Today we were going in once again to see Redneck. Hillbilly had called a couple hours ago and said that she was doing worse, _much worse_. We just pulled into the parking lot and we made our way into the small, rural hospital. All the nurses knew who we were and didn't pay any attention as we all made our way to Redneck's room. As we neared the door I got the feeling that something was wrong. Bad wrong.

Hillbilly was on his knees beside Redneck's bed. He was balling his eyes out. Redneck lay motionless. We filed in and our eyes were drawn to the small girl laying still in the white sheets. The heart monitor was unplugged...and so were her IV's.

Hillbilly pulled the sheet up over Redneck's head…

* * *

**R&R! Also send in baby OC's!**


	62. Cherry Pie!

**Cherry Pie**

Gwen's P.O.V.

It had been one month. One whole month since we landed in Miami.

Currently our place of residence was the roof of the mall. We hunker down behind a billboard for shade and security.

In the past month we've stolen food, cash, and bathing suits. Today we are going to this little patch of beach that we found. It's private and secluded because a lot of seaweed and grass has washed up on the shore.

"Are you all almost ready?" Storm asked for the millionth time.

"No! Calm down and put on some sunscreen," Ebony snapped.

We were in the public restroom on the ladies side and we were changing. None of us really cared about changing in front of each other, we had known each other long enough that we weren't shy, but the boys were a different story.

"Can I come in and get my swim trunks?" Kale asked. We had all our clothes and swim suits crammed in one giant beach bag.

"NO!" I shrieked, hooking the top piece of my bikini real quick. Yes, you read right. I'm in a _bikini_. Alex and Ebony insisted that it was the only thing they could find in my size and swipe easily. Just a little tid bit, it's to small. I'm a little to "top heavy" for this dumb thing. It was practically the color of my bright green eyes and showed _a lot_. I felt self conscious and exposed.

"I feel like an idiot," Flair said as she adjusted her bright red tankini.

"You look fine," Alex assured, twirling in her identical tankini that was orange.

"I don't," Melee said gruffly, crossing her arms over the pink ruffles on her black one piece.

"You're adorable, sweetie," Ebony assured, patting Melee on the top of her head.

"Oh gosh," Melee sighed.

"Ok...um...how does this thing tie?" Ebony asked as she tried to put on the top of her blue bikini.

"Ebony," I stifled a laugh.

She looked up.

"It's _strapless_."

"What?!" She panicked. We all burst into laughter.

"Ok, I did not see that when I snatched it! What am I going to do?!" She asked in a yell/whisper.

"Flaunt what the test tube gave ya!" Flair grinned.

"I wasn't made in a test tube," Ebony frowned.

"Then shake what your momma gave ya!" Alex giggled.

"GUYS!" Dylan's voice boomed.

"Don't you mean _girls_?" Jace corrected.

"People who sit down to pee, give us our freaking trunks!" Dylan tried again. Melee frowned and shook her head.

"It would've been so less awkward if he would've just said girls," Alex sighed. Melee pushed the bag out the door.

"Finally!" Ice cheered. We heard them hurry to the men's bathroom.

"Ok...Alex we're coating you in sunscreen," Ebony stated as she pulled out one of those spray cans of sunscreen. I guess you could call Ebony the leader of our Girl Tribe. Ice even called us Amazons.

"This stuff is sticky," Alex whined. Flair spun in circles as Ebony sprayed her down.

"Melee!" Ebony called, fishing Melee out of the bathroom stall she was hiding in.

"I don't want to be..." Melee protested. Ebony didn't take any crap, she just simply coated Melee in a thick sheet of 70spf.

"Ok! Are we ready to go?" I asked.

"Yup," Ebony smiled, spraying her own arms. I didn't need it. I had somewhat of a tan. Now I don't know if it's real or just dirt, but it still looks like a tan.

We rushed out of the restrooms, after we threw on our street clothes over our bathing suits, because apparently running through public streets with our wings showing wouldn't be wise.

Finally we made it to the beach.

•

_Kale's P.O.V._

_•_

We beat the girls to the beach. Storm immediately dove in, moving and contorting the water with him. Jace ever so slowly eased in, claiming that Ice made the water cold. Ice only rolled his eyes and held Jester under. I jumped in and smiled.

"Bird bomb!" Dylan cried as he took off into the air and quickly tucked in his wings. He did a bellyflop, causing us a to suck in a sharp breath.

"That looked painful," Jace grimaced.

All we heard was Dylan groan.

"Alright, twerp, would you rather be held under longer or be fed to sharks?" Ice asked, pulling Jes up.

"Would you rather always have Cheeto dust on your fingers or not know the difference between a baby and a muffin?" Jester shot back, confusing Ice.

"There's a difference?!" I joked.

Jace laughed and then he spotted Dylan crawling up on the beach...and laughed harder.

"Hurts...so bad," Dylan croaked as he rolled over onto his back. His whole front was a bright pink.

"What did you call that move?" Jace asked.

"Flabby bird?" Ice snickered.

"Shut up!" Dylan rolled his eyes and turned on the tiny portable radio we stole. Yes, we're thieves, and we are pretty good at it too, just sayin'.

"Oh my gosh," Jace smiled as Low, by Flo Rida, came on. I did a face palm.

"Shawty had them…" Dylan began.

"Apple Bottom jeans," Jace and Ice continued.

Jes sang backup, yelling "Jeans!"

"Boots with the fur..." Jace.

"With ith the fur!" Jester.

"The whole club was lookin' at her," Ice.

She hit the flo'…" Jace.

"She hit the flo'!" Jes.

"Next thing you know, Shawty got low low low low, low low low low," they all three sang together.

Dylan jumped up and started dancing like the goofball he was at heart.

I was to busy laughing to sing. Seeing Dylan dance threw me over the edge, but when Storm jumped up and joined in I had to hold my sides in fear that they might split.

"Oh gosh…" I heard Melee say. Our heads whipped up to see the girls coming. And it was like they were a possy, an extremely _hot_ possy, coming to storm the beach. Dylan dropped back down to the radio and skimmed through stations before he found a song that he thought fit. Cherry Pie by Warrant came on. Dylan grinned, obviously proud of his work.

_*Dirty, rotten, filthy, stinkin'*_

The girls stepped forward and it was like everything was in slow motion. The ocean breeze blew back Gwen's hair.

_*She's my cherry pie_

_Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise_

_Taste so good make a grown man cry_

_Sweet cherry pie, yeah*_

The girls pulled off their shirts and shed their pants.

_*Woaw*_

They kicked off their flip flips and took off their shoplifted sunglasses.

I don't really remember what happened the rest of the song, because we all got screamed at for practically drooling. Ice acted like a kid in a candy shop. Jace had that look that said 'I just fell from heaven'. Storm...lets just say Storm screamed "Yum!" after a whistle. Me? Oh I didn't think my heart could take much more. Seeing Gwen in a bikini made my mouth all dry and I was thinking that I was so lucky that we came to Miami. _Lucky like finding an onion ring in your french fries._

Gwen got in and swam over. I was practically shaking.

"I hate this thing," she said, sinking lower in the water.

"I don't!" I screamed. She glared at me. "I mean, uh…you look good in it. And um…" Covering it up wasn't helping.

"Ow!" Ice shrieked. All heads whipped his way. Flair had slapped him.

"You are such a perv!" She snapped.

"What?! What did I do wrong?" Ice stammered. Flair pulled out a dollar bill from the waistline of her tankini bottoms.

"THIS! This is _wrong_!"

Ice only grinned a little and shrugged sheepishly.

"Ugh! You're impossible!" Flair growled, turning around and crossing her arms.

Jace stifled a laugh. Ice glared at him.

"Dunk her," Storm whispered to Ice.

Next thing I knew, Flair was underwater and Ice wasn't gonna let her up anytime soon.

"DUDE I WAS JOKING!" Storm yelled. Ice turned pale and let Flair up. She looked like she returned from heck. The look in her eyes sent shivers down my spine. Her hair was flat and sticking to her. She gave Ice a look of death.

"You're DEAD!" And with that Flair was on top of Ice and she was forcing him under.

"Go Flair!" The girls screamed.

"Swim Ice, swim!" We boys cried.

Guess who won. Always the chick. _Always_.

Well, now we're sitting on the beach watching Jester being smacked in the face by waves and Melee watching over him protectively.

"SALT. IN. MY. EYES!" Jester yelped. Melee made, I mean literally with her telekinesis, another wave smack him. Ok I never said Melee was a _good_ babysitter…

Storm was having fun with the water, too. Every once in a while he'd swipe his hand back and forth and cause a giant wave.

I was currently searching for seashells. Alex and Ebony were having a beach-ball competition where they continuously spiked it at each other seeing who would drop it first. Jace and Storm were enjoying that. Flair and Ice were building a sand castle, or it was more like getting Flair to bend over so Ice could get an eye full.

Anyway…Dylan decided to stand up and he clapped his hands together, signaling that he was about to make an announcement.

"I'm going back to the water! Who's with me?" He smiled. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"ME!" I held my hand up, "and Gwen is too."

"What? No," Gwen shook her head.

"Yes!" I grinned as I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.

"Kale! Put me down!" She ordered as she kicked her legs.

"Nope," I said, popping the _'p_'.

"Kale!"

"Gwen!"

She huffed and crossed her arms. That's when I tossed her. She landed with a splash in the deep blue water.

"Yay!" Jester cheered, glad someone came out to play with him.

"You're a real jerk," Gwen pouted, floating and letting the waves carry her up and down.

I rolled my eyes and swam over, humming the Jaws theme song.

"Are there sharks in here, Kale?" Jes asked, latching onto my arm.

"Maybe…" I shrugged. Jes looked up at me with big, purple, petrified eyes.

"Of coarse not!" Gwen said, shooting me a glare.

Just then a dorsal fin popped up.

"SHARK!" Jes and I screamed at the same time. We both hurried to shore, gasping for air.

The whole group shot to their feet and rushed to where the tide stopped.

I heard Gwen burst into laughter.

"Guys! It's just a _dolphin_!" She called, pointing over her shoulder at a jumping dolphin. We all sighed in relief. Melee and Gwen shared some chuckles and cackles before they swam in.

"Don't tell me Big Strong Kale, is afraid of a little dolphin!"

I blushed in embarrassment. We all went back to swimming.

•

-3 hours later-

•

Three hours. Yep. We've been on the beach for three hours and the sun is starting to set. Jace fell asleep and we are currently burying him. Some sand went up his nose, but we are a _pretty_ sure he's still breathing. Dylan is laying in the wet sand, letting the tide wash over him. He's burned a little and I think that for some reason he's remembering Max.

_Oh joy. _

He just lays there, staring up at the darkening sky. The pinks and oranges swirled overhead. I walked over and sat down beside my _somewhat_ brother.

"Are you ok?" Wow, that was the three whimpy words I came up with?

"Yah," he said bluntly.

"You don't look ok."

"I'm fine."

"Liar."

"Ok, fine! So I might be a little…"

"Depressed?"

"I guess that's the word."

"I'm sorry…" I frowned.

"Sorry?" He raised an eyebrow.

"That this happened to you, I mean."

"Oh, right…"

"_I'm_ sorry," he said, surprising me.

"Why?"

"Because I know to you and Gwen I used to be some big, important guy who was responsible, and nice, and not love sick. Now I'm just some loser…"

"That's true," I nodded. Dylan looked hurt. Man I suck with words. I tried again. "But! You aren't _that_ bad."

"I feel ten times better, thank you Kale," Dylan said flatly and sarcastically.

"Well...you're just...different now. I mean, I still see characteristics from the original Dylan in you. Like that dance, and your stuck up smile, and the way you always fuss over your hair. Gosh, that used to really annoy me. I mean you took like a hour before school or before a game just to get ready!…"

"Kale."

"Sorry, what I'm trying to say is…I don't think you can _live_ without Max. That's the way you were over your last girlfriend… You aren't going to be able to forget her, Dyl."

"What am I supposed to do?! Walk around like everything's peachy and act like I don't want to strangle Fang?!"

"Yes."

Dylan gawked at me. "I don't think I can do that."

"What's the real reason you drank…?" I asked, referring to the whole McDonalds incident.

He gulped.

"Come on, Dylan!" I urged

"I thought it would make me forget…"

"Mhm…why did you drink the _second_ time?" Yes, Dylan is an alcoholic now, I_ think_. You can always smell it on his breath and I followed him once to a bar.

He sat up and gave me a look like I wasn't supposed to know his deep, dark secret. Ok, so I might be stupid, but that doesn't mean I can't look out for my brother's clone!

"It _made_ me forget."

"Dylan, your an idiot! Do you even effing know what that can do to you?!" I growled, my voice rising.

"That's just the thing…I don't care what it will do to me," he whispered. I was silent for a moment.

"I just want this to end. Every day is _torture_…" he continued. He started to tear up.

"Dylan, you have to stop this," I said, my volume lowering.

"It's not that easy, Kale! I love the drinks. They take me out of my memories and worries for a short time and make me feel normal again. They push my feelings for Max out of my thoughts and leave me feeling as light as air."

"You're killing yourself."

"So what I if am? _No one cares_…"

This made me snap.

"NO ONE CARES?! Dylan you freaking have a whole group of people who depend on you! You are our leader, Dylan! Do what leaders do and suck it up and put on a brave face and take care of us!" I screamed.

"You all are better off without me."

I wanted to deck him so bad right now. I think I'm starting to get Max's explanation of Dylan. The annoying part is starting to kick in.

"Stop rolling around in self pity! Gosh, your like a four year old girl for goodness sake!"

"Did you just tell me to man up?"

"You better believe it!"

Dylan sat there for a minuet, running his hands through the sand.

"Ok," he mumbled.

"_Ok_ what?"

"I'll man up and be the leader you all need."

"Hallelujah!" I rolled my eyes and jumped up on my feet. He followed, and we walked back to the group in silence..._well almost._

"Hey Dyl?" I glanced over at him. He was staring at the ground and walking briskly with his hands crammed in his pockets.

"Yah?"

"Do you…do you have a problem with Gwen. I mean...you know, us being _together_?" I asked. If he said yes then I could so see this turning into one of those cheesy, cliche, Romeo and Juliet romances and if that happened I think I'd jump off a bridge with my wings tucked in.

"No. Not really. I mean, I can't be all '_big brotherly_' over you, considering I'm not technically older than you...or your brother," Dylan shrugged.

"Oh my gosh," I breathed.

"What?" Dylan asked, looking up.

"I'm not good at math...but I think I'm _your_ older brother now," I said.

"That's creepy," Dylan laughed, "and at the same time a little scary."

"WHAT IN SAMS DICKENS?!" Jace cried as he jerked up, sand falling everywhere.

Yep...this is life, _my_ life.

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**Ok! So early chapper here! I just really wanted to thank you all for reviews! I have 200 now! Yay! I honestly didn't think this story would receive over 20 reviews, but you all really pulled through for me! :) I'll post another (short) chapter tonight if I can get 5 reviews. Also, send in Fax baby OC's! Thanks y'all. :{ LONG LIVE THE MUSTACHES! **


	63. Uneducated Hick vs Chinese Con Artist

**_Warning: this chapter may contain *'ed out cussing and racism! Do not flame me, or get mad._**

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**Uneducated Hick vs. Chinese Con Artist **

Ryan's P.O.V.

"I am deeply sorry for your loss," a voice came from the doorway. A _very_ _familiar_ voice, one that rang repeatedly in my head and sent off the DANGER alarms.

"_Chu_," Max growled. Yes, Mr. Chu, our long forgotten enemy.

"Well hello, Maximum," Mr. Chu grinned. Before any of us even had time to mourn the next threat was thrown in our faces. What was this guy doing in Redneck's room? What was he doing in this hick town in the first place?!

Hillbilly stood up and wiped his eyes, that weren't only filled with tears, but also confusion.

"H-How do you know them?" Hillbilly asked, his suspension rising. I could see his fingers twitch and his hands started to curl into fists.

"Well, _Mr. Symbrog_, your little sister was just a pawn in this all," Mr. Chu began. Hillbilly's jaw set and his chest bowed as he stomped forward and pushed Chu against the wall with a threateningly hard shove, not as strong as us Avian Americans, but you get the point.

"Talk fast, little man," Hillbilly said, his voice ruff and menacing. Then I realized just how much crap Hillbilly has taken and the fact that he could actually be a good fighter rung like a staring bell. It was one of those '_touch gloves and come out swinging' _moments.

"Redneck's cancer wouldn't have killed her for three more years…I poisoned her to get to Maximum faster…" that's all Chu got out before Hillbilly decked him.

"I'm going to gut you like a hog," Hillbilly threatened, his words dripping with venom.

"But that would be a _sin_, you little uneducated hick," Chu grunted, wiping blood from a newfound cut on his forehead.

"Oh, you wanna go there, _fortune cookie_? IM GOING TO SHOVE COUNTRY UP YOUR A** AND PICK IT OUT WITH CHOPSTICKS!"

Score one for Hillbilly! You should never screw with his background or religion. That's his rule número uno! Although, in a time like this I think he let religion slip. I guess he'd have to ask for forgiveness later.

"CSM betrayed you," Chu started again, ignoring Hillbilly, "I was told your backup plan. I knew you'd come here, to this quiet little town, after your home was destroyed, so I took up being Claire Symbrog's '_doctor_'. She got close to Selene and you all...it gave us the perfect opportunity to keep tabs on you. She was a piece of the puzzle the whole time. She betrayed you and she didn't even know it. All I had to do was sneak her some poison and lie about the test results and now I have you cornered."

Erasers poured in the room. Hillbilly landed another blow to Chu before an Eraser ripped him off and threw him to the ground with a punch usually fatal to humans. Hillbilly bounced back up. _I guess you can't kill a farmer…_

He looked back at us and lipped, "GO!" We hesitated, not wanting to leave him, a scrawny human, but eventually Selene teleported us out...without our consent. No one really moved. I guess we were in shock. Chu had found us. We were in trouble, and this time we didn't have a shovel to dig us outta our load of crap.

"We're going to have Erasers on our doorstep any second…" Nudge stated, sounding worried and utterly terrified. I could only imagine how many beasts would be sent to kill us. Not to mention The Dark Angels and The Herd.

"That's not the only problem…" Max breathed. We all glanced over at her. She was holding her stomach and her knees were about to buckle. She gripped to Fang like her life depended on it.

Now of all times!

"Oh sh-…"

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**Well, it's short. I know, but the action is going to heat up! The babies will be born in a couple of chapters (or maybe even the next one?) so please review! 5 reviews and I'll update tomorrow.**

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**PLEASE READ!**

**Ok, so Fax baby OC submissions are closed! I have made an attempt to please everyone and try to combine the four babies :) please check you inboxes and get back to me ASAP if you are ok with the changes. **

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**Thanks goes out to all of you! I got my five reviews! Yay! :{**


	64. Calling The Migration!

**Calling The Migration! **

Gwen's P.O.V.

"Well…this was really fun," Alex stated, laying back in the sand.

"Yah, I'd like to do this again sometime. Just chill and not have to worry about Erasers attacking, ya know?" Storm sighed as he tried to ease a sleeping Ebony off his arm before he lost all feeling the limb.

"It's a good to know that we'll stick together through thick or thin. And that every once in a while we can just be kids and run around like we were born yesterday," Jace nodded.

"I think we should go get the sand out of the places where the sun don't shine," Kale said bluntly. We all laughed and reclined, pretty exhausted.

"Well... I guess we should go change, incase anything happens…" I shrugged. Everyone gave an exasperated sigh as they forced theirselves up on unsteady legs.

Ebony jerked awake and smacked Storm.

"You woke me up!" She pouted, her words slurred.

"Beauty sleep isn't helping you much, anyway," Ice teased. Ebony was now fully awake and she climbed to her feet and bolted to get a swing in on Ice.

"You immature, sarcastic, moron!" Ebony shrieked as she slapped him over the head, Flair enjoying every minuet of it, "I bet you couldn't pull off a strapless bikini anyway!"

"That's true," Ice grinned as he held his arms up to fend off the blows, "first of all because I don't have boobs, and secondly because I'm not a chick."

Ebony got all her frustration out before she huffed, spun around, and grabbed Melee's arm, proceeding to stomp away.

"Where are you going?!" Storm called after her.

"To go eat a gluten free bagel and change!" She screamed over her shoulder. We all followed, Alex toting the ginormous beach bag along with her and me with a beach ball tucked under my arm.

Once we made it to the restroom Ebony ordered Melee to get in the showers. Melee claimed she knew how to take care of herself. Ebony started barking out more safety precautions like 'leave your flip flops on or you'll get athletes foot' and 'if you get shampoo in your eyes don't rub it in'. I usually just smile in nod, because if you tick Ebony off its like throwing your own life on the line. I know, it's weird. The usually soft spoken Ebony can become such a mother bear some times.

"Hand me your bathing suit!" Ebony called to Melee. Melee sighed and tossed her swim suit out of the shower to Ebony. Ebony washed it off in the sink and started drying it under the hand dryer.

Melee took only ten minuets, causing Ebony to fret and check behind the girl's ears like Melee had a deadly disease. Ebony scrambled to pull Melee out a fresh pair of clothes, immediately ordering the rest of us girls to start washing our dirty clothes. I could already tell that we were going to be in this bathroom for a _long_ time.

Well _long, _and I mean long, story short we all took our showers and washed our clothes. Now Alex was sitting under the hand dryer, brushing her hair as the device rattled and sputtered, spitting out warm air. Flair sat on the counter near the sinks, kicking the button every time the dryer cut off. She folding our bathing suits and extra clothes and neatly laid them back in the bag. Melee was asleep in the corner, laying on a quilt that we stole a few weeks back. She had it clumped up like it was a little bed and she was snoozing soundly. Melee tried to keep up her act, but on the inside she's just a little girl who does get tired, and sick of all this. Ebony wrung the water out of her hair and draped our towel over the curtain rod.

Yes, we all share a towel, and many other things like a hairbrush, soap, toothpaste, a washcloth, hair bands, razors, and every once in a while we share clothes. I just thank god that we get our own toothbrushes. The boys are in the same situation as us, except Jester refuses to take a bath so they have to forcefully hold him in the shower.

Thinking of Jester, I realized that he was probably asleep and the boys were probably drawing on his face or torturing him. The poor little guy.

"I'm gonna go get Jes," I told the girls as I unlocked the bathroom door and hurried over to the boys' side. Their door wasn't locked, which told me they were decent. I opened the squeaky, stubborn door and found out that I was dead wrong.

They all stood in their boxers, quarreling over something. Their clothes were tossed everywhere and don't even get me started on their looks. I made a mental note to later ask Jace why he had a giant brown stain on his underwear. It was probably from their chocolate prank they pulled on him days ago, but you could never be to sure. I cleared my throat, hoping to get their attention. They still hadn't noticed me.

"BOYS!" I snapped. They all fell silent and slowly looked over, like it was a thing from a horror movie. All the color flushed from their faces and jaws dropped. They didn't move. I burst into a fit of giggles.

"Get out!" Ice ordered as he started to shove me.

"Y'know, there's this amazing invention on the door called a lock. Try using it sometime!" I barely got out while I was gasping for air.

"Out!" They all screamed at the same time. Then I remembered why I came in here. I spotted Jester curled in a ball laying outside the showers. He was still in his tidy whities because Dylan just couldn't be responsible for once and dress the poor kid.

"I just came for Jes. I didn't plan on being mentally scarred," I explained, slipping out of Ice's grip and scooping up the seven year old. He was smaller than any other seven year old I've seen. He looked more like he was five. His blue hair was at least dry, but it wasn't brushed so it stuck up in all directions. His little green wings laid perfectly against his back and he looked like an angel. A _neon angel,_ but you get the point.

"Give me his clothes," I sighed with an outreached hand. Dylan studied the floor, picking up Jes's shirt and shorts. Why wasn't I surprised? He slapped them down into my hand and grinned like he had really accomplished something.

"Dylan," I started, my voice sounding bored, dull, and blunt, "put on some pants."

He frowned and scrambled to jerk up some blue jeans.

"That's mine," Kale laughed, tearing them from Dylan's hands.

"Which ones are mine?" Dylan asked.

"The blue ones," Kale smiled.

"Kale! They're blue jeans! They're all blue!" Jace snapped.

"Well sorry," Kale frowned. And thus started the bickering again.

"I'm sending Ebony over," I grumbled as I turned to leave.

"Go! I gotta pee!" Storm whined as he shoved me out the door and locked it with a click.

I let go of my laughter as I rushed back into the ladies room, carrying a sleeping Jes with me.

"You won't believe what I just saw!" I announced as I hurried in and slammed the door.

"What did you see?" Ebony questioned as she brushed her brown hair out of her soft, blue eyes and took Jester from me.

"The boys," I snickered, "don't have pants on!"

Flair snorted, causing us all to laugh.

"So they just stood there?" Alex asked, bewildered after I explained the scene in great detail.

"Yah! And then they started fighting over who's pants were who's!" I grinned.

"I should probably go over there and help," Ebony stated as she dressed Jes and placed him beside Melee. I could tell she was trying to hold back laughter.

"Oh! Tell about Jace's mysterious stain again!" Flair cackled.

"I don't even want to think about it," I shook my head. Ebony finally let her hysterical giggles out.

A knock at the door interrupted us. Alex slowly opened it, peeking out to investigate.

"It's Dylan!" She yelled as she slammed the door quickly.

"Great, how do we get rid of him?" Flair frowned, getting up.

"Like this," I smiled devilishly as I opened the door to find Dylan finally in a pair of pants, but his shirt was no where to be found and one pant leg was wet from where it had been laying in a puddle of water, hopefully it was water.

"We're going…" he started.

I gasped frantically and interrupted him. "You found your pants! That's great sweetie," I beamed like I was talking to a three year old...ok so technically I was, but…

"Yah, like I was saying…" he tried again.

"Where's your shirt?"

"Good lord, woman! I put on pants, what more could you want from me?!" He was agitated now.

"Ok, well, nice talking to ya!" I chirped as I ruffled his perfectly combed hair and closed the door in his face, hurrying to lock it and attempting to cover my mouth so I would burst into laughter. The girls snickered.

"IM GOING TO GET A PIZZA!" He screamed through the door.

"Have fun!" Flair shouted back. We heard him stomp away. Ebony slapped me a high five and Alex and Flair chuckled some more.

"Would you all please stop vibrating your epiglottis and making it half-close over your larynx so I can sleep!?"** {A/N: thats fancy peoples talk for "laughing"} **Melee snapped as she sat up, looking tired.

"I'm going to answer this in Kale's words," Flair grinned, "Big words hurt brain!"

Melee groaned and laid back down, shoving Jes off her. What can I say? The boy likes to cuddle. **{A/N: no! There's is not going to be JELEE OR MESTER, you sickos}**

We eventually got everything packed up and then went to the boys' side and packed up their crap that they left sprawled everywhere. At least they all put on clothes. I mean that is a MAJOR relief. They must've seriously went to get a pizza because I couldn't find them.

"Ok, where to put camp…" Ebony tapped on her chin, thinking. This restroom was practically abandoned and somewhat run down. A street was in front of us, but it was now dark and night masked our presence. Street lights were the only thing enabling us to see at this point, those and the ginormous sign that glowed and pointed to a club. You could hear the music and cheering people from here.

"Back there," Alex said, pointing to some dense brush behind the bathrooms.

"Sounds great, now all we have to do is wait for…" Ebony nodded and ranted on.

"I got PIZZA!" I heard Kale's voice scream. I spun around and there he stood, carrying seven boxes of pizza.

"Good!" Flair was almost drooling over the scent.

Melee fumbled out of the bathroom, dragging the quilt behind her and looking back to make sure a rather tired, and mostly still asleep, Jes followed. He was rubbing his eyes and he just looked so darn cute.

"Do I smell p-…" Jes started.

"Pizza!" Melee cheered, perking up a little.

"Ok, well we need to set up camp somewhere before we eat…" Dylan mumbled, his eyes scanning the perimeter.

Melee rolled her eyes and telekinetically pushed Dylan's head in the direction of the brush.

"I've got it!" Dylan smiled down at us, yes for some reason him and Storm are taller than the rest of us, "We'll sleep in the brush!"

"Hurray! A round of applause to the Dylan Clone!" Flair clapped, sarcastically.

"Ha ha, your _soooo_ funny," Dylan stuck his tongue out at Flair.

"I am, aren't I?" She teased. Ice made a gun out of his hands and acted like he shot Flair in the head with it. She punched his shoulder and stomped on his foot.

Ice tackled her and pinned her.

"Tell me you love me..." Ice swooned as he looked down at her.

"No!" Flair hissed.

"Say it!"

"Never!"

"SAY IT!"

"Fine! I love you!" Flair gave in with a sulk. Ice pecked a kiss on her lips.

"I HATE YOU!" Flair cried as she got up and dashed into the brush.

"Yup, just like old times," Ice nodded, chasing after her.

"Are we going to be eaten by alligators?" Jes asked, clasping onto Kale's hand.

"No…" Kale said, uneasy.

"Brawr! I'mma alligator!" Jace teased, jumping in front of Jes and clapping his hands down like an alligator's jaws.

"Feed it the pizza!" Jes shrieked, playing along.

Finally after fifteen minuets of Dylan and his 'everything must be perfecto!' fuss we sat down on our quilt and started eating pizza...or at least tried to. The boys insisted that they feed us. I had a bad feeling about this.

Dylan's grin gave it away. I could tell he was smirking behind his piece of pizza. Melee sat near him and picked the pepperonis off her pizza and suck it on his. Dylan always had a fondness for pepperonis, but I'm positive he was smiling over the extra meat.

The boys had something planned.

I was sitting criss-cross-apple sauce, or whatever you want to call it, and Jes was sitting on my lap wolfing down his second piece of pizza.

"Kale! Give me a piece!" I whined.

"Chill," he smiled as he opened a box. The smell of pizza loomed under my nose.

"Kale!" I snapped. He smiled and picked a slice up. He held it right in front of my mouth. I leaned forward to snatch a bite and missed because the big bully, Kale jerked it away.

"Eh eh eh! Not so fast," he shook his finger at me.

"Give. Me. The. Food," it was only four words, but you should fear them. I hadn't eaten all day and swimming really makes your stomach growl. If he didn't hand over the pizza in three seconds I was going to strangle him.

That is not a threat, it's a promise.

Kale smacked me in the face with the pizza.

Yes, you read right.

He just picked it up...and slapped me in the face with it.

_Why_? I have no idea, but I was fuming mad.

"Kale Arbrown you are so DEAD!" I cried, leaping forward. He had a look of pure fear etched on his face. He knows that when I use his last name he's in _big_ trouble.

"Uhhh…" he squeaked as I slugged him.

"You suck!" I boomed as I smacked him again.

"It was just a joke!" He started to laugh.

"You are so friggin' immature! Ugh!" I growled as I grabbed a napkin and wiped my face off. Luckily not much of it had gotten in my bangs, or there would no longer be a Kale in this story.

Long story short I got him back by shoving Jes's piece of pizza practically up his nose. This resulted in a pizza fight, which Dylan interrupted claiming that we all needed to eat and if we wasted another slice of pepperoni he was going to kill us all in our sleep. Lets just say those pizzas didn't last five minuets. We determined that Storm was the _Pizza King_. He ate two whole pizzas in three minuets flat. It was ah-mazing.

We all laid down, bellies mostly full and feeling sparkly clean. We dozed off.

_-Da Next Mornin_'-

Yup. Of coarse I'm the first one up. _Figures_.

I yawned and glance around. Tucked between me and Kale was a certain blue haired joke-ster with a half eaten slice of pizza still gripped firmly in once hand. Kale's wing was draped over us. I slowly peeled it off and folded it in for him, and safety laid it against his back. I sat up, trying not to wake anyone.

Quietly I slipped out of my spot, tiptoeing off the quilt. The sun was rising and I knew we'd needed to get back to the road soon. I licked my finger and bent down, sticking it in Dylan's ear.

"KILL THEM FIRST! KILL THEM FIRST!" Dylan shrieked, jerking up in a cold sweat.

Everyone else woke up to Dylan's screaming. They all glared at him. I stood there, cackling like a wet hen. Dylan frowned at me.

"You she devil!" He narrowed his eyes.

"C'mon! We gotta go!" I giggled.

-_later that day-_ **{A/N: They are now on the same day as The Flock}**

Hmmm…what to do…_what to do…_

"I spy…" Jester started for about the millionth time today.

"I hate playing this game with you! You always change the color so I can't get it!" Ice pouted. Jes frowned.

"I'm so bored!" He whined. Kale had him sitting on his shoulder and Jes was having a good time changing people's hair color. This one lady looked in her compact mirror and literally flipped out screaming about her new bright orange highlights like the world had just ended.

'Gwen...' Angel's voice rung in my head.

'_Long time no...think,'_ I thought back.

'We need you all. We need the Migration. Max has gone into labor, Redneck is dead, and Chu is responsible. We need you. The Herd, The Dark Angels, and Erasers are pounding us. Please...' That's the first time I've heard her voice that desperate.

'_We're on our way,_' I thought back, my voice hardening and sounding almost heroic.

I swiped my wings out, in public mind you, and took off.

"Duty calls," I shouted down to the others.

They rose, wings stroking, above a crowd of gasping humans.

"Home?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.

I gave a curt nod.

We flew as fast as we could in the direction of _home _passing upwardly raised phones, disposable camera clicks, and pure, utterly shocked faces.

We're coming home.

_Migration to the rescue!_

* * *

**I'm so sorry, I know. This isn't a fight scene. Please don't be mad, the fight scene will come tomorrow for sure. The more reviews you give the faster the chap. will be out. **

**-again I'm really sorry!**


	65. We Raise Our Fists

**Sorry this took so long guys, I was on vacation! Anyway, just a warning this is long and there are a lot of P.O.V. changes. The babies are born this chapter and I wrote Melee's P.O.V., but it got deleted, so please forgive me that it's not here!**

* * *

**•_•**

* * *

**We Raise Our Fists**

_What do we do when the enemy knocks? What do we do when we are pushed to the corner? What do we do when there is no other way? What do we do when it's fight or die? What do we do when the sacrifice means more than us ourselves? What do we do when we look into the eyes of hatred? What do we do on those days when the sun just won't shine? What do we do when it's to late? What do we do when a punch is thrown? What do we do when the first black eye is planted? What do we do when we aren't sure if we can go on? What do we do when life loses its glory of living? What do we do in the hands of evil? What do we do when death's cold hand wraps around our throat, threatening our demise?_

_We raise our fists…_

* * *

**_(I'm going to state random things here!)_**

**luchar escena**

**{"fight scene" in Spanish}**

* * *

Ryan's P.O.V.

'_Oh gosh_…' was the only thing I could think. We had been fighting for some time. Two, two and a half hours? I don't really remember. After you've fought for so long it's like everything was slow...but it moves by so fast. It was hard to explain. I can't even begin to describe my wounds. None of them are fatal though, thank goodness.

An Eraser had me by the throat, you know, the typical story for us bird kids.

I squirmed and tossed, trying to rip his hands off my neck. It was not working. I brought my knees up and wedged them between the Eraser and I. With all my might I forced my legs to open straight, prying me away from the beast. I fell to the ground with a thud, loosing my breath and causing my vision to swirl.

Next thing I knew I was jerked back up and a cold, smooth blade sheared the skin off a section of my forearm. I cried out in pain, frustration, and defeat. I was tired, I was hurt, and I was mad.

With one last, swift movement of my hand I could feel rock only a few feet away. I held my breath and flicked my wrist, causing a shard of flint to break up out of the ground and lodge itself into the Eraser's back. When a sickening, yet pleasing, slicing noise echoes out I smile devilishly, blood pouring into my mouth from my busted nose.

The Eraser howls in pain and drops me. He falls forward, on top of me. His eyes were cold and lifeless, like his soul had been drained out. He was dead. I quickly shoved the body off of me. I rolled to my feet, scanning the scene for my next target.

The earth rumbled beneath me and I could feel the warm, red crimson blood dripping down my arm. It rolled off my fingertips and dripped to stain the grass. Blood wasn't going to stop me.

I wasn't going to stop. Not today. Not tomorrow. _Never_.

* * *

**Selene means "moon" in Greek.**

* * *

Selene's P.O.V.

My head whipped around at the sound of an ear splitting scream. My hair blocked my view. That little look was a bad mistake. I was decked, hard.

As I fell to the dirt, I realized that I could end up not getting out of this alive. To tell the truth, that little possibility scared me. It was repeatedly ringing in my head.

The person set their foot down on my chest, making me wheeze. I was burning on the inside. It was the thing keeping me alive right now. Like a little fire was dwelling in the depths of my will to live. If I wanted to get out alive I had to hold on with all I had. I had to keep fighting. This person, this freak, had red eyes. Yes, red eyes. Their hair was pitch black and their skin was pale white. It was like an emo piece of paper was attacking me. The person could only stay out when the sun masked the clouds. The light hurt them, bad.

"Goodbye," the boy's voice came out raspy and harsh. I grinned and teleported behind him, landing a perfectly executed roundhouse kick to his spine. There was no crack, however, and the boy just fell forward.

I was about to attack again when a pair of arms wrapped around me and pulled me up off my feet. A shrill cry escaped my lips as I thrashed.

"No use," the voice whispered in my ear. It was an Eraser. I was sure, considering the fact that fur sprouted on the arms. Again I teleported, this time to the right of my attacker. I brought my foot up and rested it right under his ribs. Hurriedly latching onto the Eraser's arm I pulled, hard, and pushed off with my foot. I winced at the loud pop that erupted from the beast's shoulder. It was dislocated and I let go, planning what to do next as the Eraser yelped and screamed.

"Twist the neck," a voice chirped behind me. _Gazzy?_

"Sure…"

* * *

**boom**

**/bo͞om/**

**Noun: ****A loud, deep, resonant sound.A period of great prosperity or rapid economic growth.A long pole or rod, in particular.**

**Verb: ****Make a loud, deep, resonant sound: "thunder boomed in the sky".Enjoy a period of great prosperity or rapid economic growth: "business is booming".**

**Synonyms: ****thunder - roar - rumble**

* * *

Gazzy's P.O.V.

I was tossing bombs everywhere. I think my grand total so far was 20 Erasers, which was pretty good. They just kept coming.

I pulled out a bottle rocket, a _deadly_ bottle rocket, and shot it at a rather big burly wolf man. It hit him and on impact it exploded, leaving a large gaping hole in his chest.

I stood still for a second, feeling the pain from the tiny gash on my shoulder as I pulled out my next bomb. It was like one of those snap 'n pops, or snap dragons, y'know whatever you want to call those things that you throw on the ground that pop on the Fourth of July. Anyway, it was a giant one of those. Pretty cool, right? It's deadly though, so it probably wouldn't be smart of me to just throw it on the ground. You don't want that much gunpowder near you.

An Eraser rushed forward, wielding a measly little hand gun. I threw my bomb like it was a snowball. It hit at the beast's stomach and detonated, throwing innards my way. I held up my arm to protect my face. I honestly thought it couldn't get much worse than this. I peeled a piece of intestine off my sleeve and gagged. But I must say, that was pretty awesome.

I stumbled back and saw Selene staring wide eyed at an Eraser.

"Twist the neck!" I tried, wanting as many of these things to die as possible.

"Sure," She shrugged and unfolded her wings, rising over the Eraser. Her feet swung down and latched on either side of the beast's head. She spun in a circle, her feet sliding up under the wolf man's jaws, and twisted.

"Sweet," I breathed in awe as the bulky figure dropped. She had her teeth gritted and her fists dangling beside her.

I held out another bomb, ready to test it out.

Yup, this totally was an epic gore fest!

* * *

**εїз {butterfly} **

* * *

Sparks' P.O.V.

I was pushed under, claws sinking in my neck. A scream erupted from my throat as I felt myself sinking out of reality. I was flat on my back, no where to run and no way of getting out easy. I brought up my knees in one last defensive attack, I could feel the Eraser's weight being lifted off me.

_Now what?_

My brain was on survival mode. I clasped my hands together and swung at the Eraser's head. As I beat my fists into the side of his temple I happened to catch him off guard and I rolled out from under him and pushed myself to my feet.

I decided to run. My feet pounded on the earth below as my arms pumped at my sides. I hurdled dead bodies in my attempt to get away. The Eraser was chasing me, and gaining on me. I had sprained my ankle some time ago, so I wasn't as fast as I should've been. When I could hear the Eraser's pants for air behind me I snapped open my ebony wings and took a leap into the air. It grabbed my ankle. I looked down and turned so I was on my back in the air. I slammed my heel down on its nose. The grip loosened and I jerked out of his hands and turned back to the sky. I though I was free for the moment. I thought I was safe. Then a winged figure crashed into me. A Dark Angel.

* * *

•**Ostriches stick their heads in the sand to look for water**

**•Only male turkeys (Toms) gobble, females make a clicking noise.**

**•Turkeys will peck to death members of the flock that are physically inferior or different.**

**•Unlike humans, canaries can regenerate their brain cells.**

**•Over 1000 birds a year die from smashing into windows.**

**•A hummingbird's heart beats 1,260 times per minute.**

**•Flamingos lay their eggs on top of volcano-shaped nests made of mud.**

**•Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.**

**•California condors can fly 10 miles without flapping their wings.**

**•The ostrich yolk is the largest single cell in the world.**

**•In Miami, Florida, roosting vultures have taken to snatching poodles from rooftop patios.**

**•Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru, an island nation in the western Pacific.**

**•The waste produced by one chicken in its lifetime can supply enough electricity to run a 100 watt bulb for five hours.**

**•An eagle can kill a young deer and fly away with it.**

**•The pouch under a pelican's bill holds up to 25 pounds of fish and water.**

**{I own nothing in these random facts boxes}**

* * *

Fang's P.O.V.

I ducked under a kick sent from one of these freaky red eyed Dark Angels. He decided to take the fight to the air and I followed, wanting to end this. He swiped out a knife, or a sword. I don't really know. The blade was long though and he slashed at my wings. It caught and tore away some secondary feathers. They drifted down, coated in blood. One thing I didn't want to see was blood, and there running down my wing was a thick line of it. This creep was dead. I kicked him, my foot landing in the center of his chest. I knew the air was going to be knocked out of him, so I decided to try to knock out his wings. I pulled my wings in and dove for his, catching the tip. My wings unfolded quickly, allowing me to have time to do what I did next. The main bone on the arc of our wing is majorly important and hollow, as you already know, so when I brought it down over my knee to break it there was in fact a crunch. I broke this his wing. He didn't scream, just plummeted.

That's what he got for screwing with my family.

I should be in there with Max, holding her hand. I should be there to cradle our newborn baby, but the world just wouldn't let us get off easy for once.

The Dark Angel crashed into Sparks. She screamed in surprise and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back until it popped. She let go and watched him fall the rest of the way. She threw her arms up in the air, celebrating her amazing feat. I only landed and attacked the next Eraser, not knowing if we could fend off this army, but heck was I gonna try.

To break me is to kill me. I wouldn't give in to exhaustion.

* * *

**Q: What has a foot but no legs?  
A: A snail**

**Q: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?  
A: Nothing**

**Q: What comes down but never goes up?  
A: Rain**

**Q: I'm tall when I'm young and I'm short when I'm old. What am I?  
A: A candle**

**Q: Mary's father has 5 daughters – Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What is the fifth daughters name?  
A: If you answered Nunu, you are wrong. It's Mary!**

**Q: How can a pants pocket be empty and still have something in it?  
A: It can have a hole in it.**

**Q: In a one-story pink house, there was a pink person, a pink cat, a pink fish, a pink computer, a pink chair, a pink table, a pink telephone, a pink shower– everything was pink!  
What color were the stairs?  
A: There weren't any stairs, it was a one story house!**

**A dad and his son were riding their bikes and crashed. Two ambulances came and took them to different hospitals. The man's son was in the operating room and the doctor said, "I can't operate on you. You're my son."  
How is that possible?  
A: The doctor is his mom!**

**Q: What goes up when rain comes down?  
A: An umbrella!**

**Q: What is the longest word in the dictionary?  
A: Smiles, because there is a mile between each 's'**

**Q: If I drink, I die. If i eat, I am fine. What am I?  
A: A fire!**

**Q: Throw away the outside and cook the inside, then eat the outside and throw away the inside. What is it?  
A: Corn on the cob, because you throw away the husk, cook and eat the kernels, and throw away the cob.**

**Q: What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?  
A: Short**

**Q: What travels around the world but stays in one spot?  
A: A stamp!**

**Q: What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in one thousand years?  
A: The letter M**

**Q: What has 4 eyes but can't see?  
A: Mississippi**

**Q: If I have it, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have it. What is it?  
A: A Secret.**

**Q: Take away my first letter, and I still sound the same. Take away my last letter, I still sound the same. Even take away my letter in the middle, I will still sound the same. I am a five letter word. What am I?  
A: EMPTY**

**Q: What has hands but can not clap?  
A: A clock**

**Q: What can you catch but not throw?  
A: A cold.**

**Q: A house has 4 walls. All of the walls are facing south, and a bear is circling the house. What color is the bear?  
A: The house is on the north pole, so the bear is white.**

**Q: What is at the end of a rainbow?  
A: The letter W!**

**Q: What is as light as a feather, but even the world's strongest man couldn't hold it for more than a minute?  
A: His breath!**

**Q: What starts with the letter "t", is filled with "t" and ends in "t"?  
A: A teapot!**

**Q: What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?  
A: Silence.**

**Q: You walk into a room with a match, a karosene lamp, a candle, and a fireplace. Which do you light first?  
A: The match.**

**Q: A man was driving his truck. His lights were not on. The moon was not out. Up ahead, a woman was crossing the street. How did he see her?  
A: It was a bright and sunny day!**

**Q: What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?  
A: A palm!**

**Q: If an electric train is travelling south, which way is the smoke going?  
A: There is no smoke, it's an electric train!**

**Q: You draw a line. Without touching it, how do you make the line longer?  
A: You draw a shorter line next to it, and it becomes the longer line.**

**Q: What has one eye but cannot see?  
A: A needle**

**Q: A man leaves home and turns left three times, only to return home facing two men wearing masks. Who are those two men?  
A: A Catcher and Umpire.**

**Q: Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?  
A: Neither, they both weigh one pound!**

**Q: How many months have 28 days?  
A: All 12 months!**

**Q: A frog jumped into a pot of cream and started treading. He soon felt something solid under his feet and was able to hop out of the pot. What did the frog feel under his feet?  
A: The frog felt butter under his feet, because he churned the cream and made butter.**

**Q: A horse is on a 24 foot chain and wants an apple that is 26 feet away. How can the horse get to the apple?  
A: The chain is not attached to anything.**

**Q: If a blue house is made out of blue bricks, a yellow house is made out of yellow bricks and a pink house is made out of pink bricks, what is a green house made of?  
A: Glass**

**Q: What goes up a chimney down but can't come down a chimney up?  
A: an umberella**

**Q: We see it once in a year, twice in a week, and never in a day. What is it?  
A: The letter "E"**

**Q: Mr. Blue lives in the blue house, Mr. Pink lives in the pink house, and Mr. Brown lives in the brown house. Who lives in the white house?  
A: The president!**

**Q: They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?  
A: Stars!**

**Q: How do you make the number one disappear?  
A: Add the letter G and it's "GONE"**

**Q; What goes up but never comes down?  
A: Your age!**

** {I own none of these I got them from a website}**

* * *

Nudge's P.O.V.

This was great. Just perfect. I was coated in mud and I felt all sticky. My new shirt was ruined and my hair was jumbled. A fist collided with my face. A big, fury, not well maintained fist.

I practically fell, but in style, to the ground holding my jaw. I mean, that was a hard punch. I decided my perfectly manicured nails would have to deal with my next move. As the Eraser dove to grab my neck I gouged his eyes. It howled in pain and I threw myself back to my feet and kicked it, causing the beast to go to his knees.

"This is for ruining my name brand clothes!" I cried as I shove him and he rolled to his back.

"And this is for punching me!" I snapped as I landed my foot down on his chest, hopefully breaking some ribs.

"And this…" I started as I lifted my foot, "this is for all those times when you and your little friends caused me pain!" I dropped my foot on his crotch and spun around, strutting away feeling proud of myself. That was until the next idiot decided to whack me in the head with the stock of their gun. I was dazed momentarily and I lost my footing. The Eraser shot me, the bullet lodged itself in my thigh and I gasped. As I regained my breath I let out a shrill scream.

* * *

**ANGEL=**

**1 a : a spiritual being superior tohumans in power and intelligence  
b _plural_ : an order of angels — seecelestial hierarchy**

**2 : an attendant spirit or guardian**

**3 : a usually white-robed winged figure of human form in fine art**

**4 : messenger, harbinger _angel_ of death**

**5 : a person like an angel (as in looks or behavior)**

**6 : _Christian Science_ : inspiration from God**

**7 : one (as a backer of a theatrical venture) who aids or supports with money or influence**

**8 : angelfish**

**{yup, this is from the dictionary}**

* * *

Angel's P.O.V.

24 and I were actually inside. After the first hour or so Fang told us to go in. I was currently killing Erasers through the window with my mind. 24 just looked bored, she was braiding her pure white hair. Her apple green eyes focused out the window and she pointed. I followed her finger and sure enough Nudge was laying on the ground, the barrel of a gun at her temple.

"We've got to do so something!" 24 cried.

"I-I can't pick out his mind!" I panicked. It was hard to decipher through all the thoughts, but I couldn't find the one Eraser's thoughts. I couldn't pick them out from the the others.

"Lets go!" 24 yelled, unlocking the door and rushing out. I followed, closing the door behind me. We were running to Nudge when we were both grabbed. Night herself had me. Carl, or _Eris_, had 24.

I tried to push the thought of suicide at Night, but she didn't transmit any thoughts. Her mind was foggy and blurred.

'_Oh gosh NO!'_ 24 shrieked in her head. I glanced over and Eris had a knife out and was carving into 24's collar bone. She was struggling, making him cut deeper. He hit bone and I winced. 24 was crying. Tears poured down her cheeks.

'_Stay calm_…' I thought to her, but I knew it was no use. I turned back to Night, who brought a powerful punch down on my face. I spit blood. What did we get ourselves into?

* * *

**24: 2 cartons of eggs**

**24: 12x2, 2x12, 4x6, 6x4**

**24: hours in a day**

* * *

24's P.O.V.

'Oh gosh NO!' I screamed in my head. My lip trembled as Eris made another cut. He was torturing me.

"P-Please stop!" I squeaked as tears ran over the brim of my eyes.

He ignored and gripped tighter to the pocket knife.

I had to get out of here. I had to soon or I'd be a dead girl.

Think...think...what could kill a Dark Angel? What could kill a Dark Angel?! What did Gwen tell me that one time…? What did she tell me? They didn't like light? Was that it?

They didn't like light!

My fingers curled into my palms, forming a tight fist.

I forced my power on full blown, causing light to shine. I could feel it warming my hands.

"Ready to die?" Eris's voice was chilled and menacing.

"Only if you are!" I shouted as I punched with all my might and uncurled my fist to give him a face full of light. He literally hissed and hunkered down, letting go of me. I kept a focused beam of blue light on him. He ducked into the crowd of Erasers, fleeing me.

_'A little help_?' Angel whispered in my thoughts. I spun, ready to light Night up when I met a gruesome sight. Angel was already laying on the ground in a heap. She was trying to protect herself from Night's heavy, stomping feet, but nothing was working.

"Hey!" I called to Night. She stopped kicking Angel and tuned to look at me, her red eyes glowing with hatred.

Her eyes narrowed as she quietly said, "This one is worthless…" She raised her gun and aimed at my forehead.

"Suck on this!" I cried as I let the light land on Night. She hissed like a cat and held up her wing, trying to block off the rays. I didn't drop my beam as I moved closer. Night eventually gave up and ran in a quick sprint for the cover of the forest. That gave me time to go to Angel, who was already bruising and bleeding.

"Nudge…" she mumbled as she sat up, blood caked in her hair.

I glanced to where Nudge laid. The Eraser still towered over her. But there was hope, because coming over the little crest of the hill behind her was a big, red tractor that was spitting out exhaust. Driving it was no other than Hillbilly himself.

* * *

**Hillbilly and Redneck were named after my two bottle baby lambs.**

* * *

John Symbrog's P.O.V.

After the bird kids left the wolf men and that stupid Chinese doctor followed. They just punched me and left me laying on the floor. Those mutant freaks were strong, but you can't kill a farmer. I pulled myself to my feet and rushed outside to my old pickup truck. Quick as possible I threw myself in and started it up, praying it wouldn't die on me now. I stick-shifted it into reverse, recklessly pulling out and hitting a couple of cars behind me. I knew I could loose my license for this, but hey, I was only seventeen. I'd manage. Right now I was gonna make that guy pay for killing Redneck. I knew that there would be heck to pay, but that crossed my mind a little to late as I floored it right through a barbwire fence, dragging it along with me. I was speeding through a corn field, the corn hitting my windshield in repeated thumps. As I broke out on the other side I saw Mr. Smithens, an old farming neighbor of mine, sitting on his porch in that old rocking chair of his. Propped up beside of him was a twelve gage. When I came barreling out of his corn field he jumped to his feet and grabbed that dumb gun. I sped through his yard, trying to get back to the road. He peppered my tailgate in bullets as I gunned it to the highway.

Eventually I got my truck up to my own farm and I hopped out, not even caring to cut it off. I stuffed my Daddy's old pistol that I keep under the passenger seat down the front of my pants. As I ran to the barn I unhooked Bo. He barked and yelped as he followed, like we were going on a hunt. I grabbed my shotgun and threw it over my shoulder and climbed up on my big McCormick** {A/N: yes McCormick. No John Deer! Tractors are red and grass is green!}** tractor. The hay rake was still attached, but I guess I'd have to deal with that. I filled it up with fuel and drove it out of the barn, accidentally running over a few bales of hay.

Bo climbed on sat against my leg. I reached in the crack of the old broken seat where my Daddy used to stash his cigarettes. Sure enough I found one, and the old beaten lighter. I remembered the day Daddy left. I gritted my teeth and silently cussed. I was gonna go kill these freaks for Redneck. They'd pay. They'd learn that you don't mess with country and you don't provoke a cowboy.

_'God forgive me_…' I prayed.

The tractor spit and sputtered, the wheels rattling, as we inched up the hill. I could see those wolf men everywhere. I turned up the speed and the tractor puffed out more smoke.

"What the-" a wolf man looked up and gawked at me and the machine, but that's all he got out before I ran him over and he was crushed under the wheels.

"IT'S A TRACTOR, IDGIT!" I laughed as the hay rake pulled his squalling body along behind.

Yup, this is what I was looking for. One by one those beasts were plunged under this tractor. Bo barked and growled at some as we passed. Then I spotted the talkative one, Nudge, laying on the ground coated in mud like a pig on a rainy day. I put the tractor in park and jumped off, Bo tagging along.

"Hey," I yelled at the wolf man hovering over her. He turned, gun in hand. That's when I brought my steel-toed boot up into his knee cap. That didn't faze him much. He tackled me and pinned me. Next thing I knew he was sluggin' me and I was trying to push him off.

"God forgive you," I spit out between his strikes. He looked at me like I was plum mad.

"Bo! Death wish!" I cried out. Bo's ears perked up and he lunged, taking the wolf man's head between his jaws and sinking in his K-9's. I shot to my feet and pulled out the pistol, cocking it and pulling the trigger. The bullet hit perfectly in the man's heart. I was shaking now. I killed someone. It wasn't a good feeling. It was terrible. I killed a wolf man that didn't know Jesus. I didn't want him to die like that. I didn't want him to go to the lakes of fire.

I heard Nudge trying not to cry as she whimpered at a gunshot wound in her thigh. I offered her a hand and she took it. I hauled her up to her feet. She but her lip and I noticed all her other wounds. Pickin' her up bridal style, I hurried back to the tractor and set her in the seat. She was surprisingly light. I motioned Bo back up and hopped on myself.

"Nudge...your going to have to sit on the hood," I hurried.

"What?! Are you insane?!…" she started to blabber. I just rolled my eyes and picked her up, gently moving her to the front of the tractor. She sat on the hood, scared to death.

"Hold on!" I yelled over the sound of the tractor. I passed her the shotgun. She looked at me like I was insane. I only shrugged and grinned, running over another beast.

Yup, country is whoopin' butt!

* * *

**I've practically run out of facts. Umm…the three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow.**

* * *

Ella's P.O.V.

Mom told me to hurry and go get some medical supplies from the garage. I hurried out of the room and rushed through the house to the door leading to the garage. It was dark, so I flicked on the light.

Five Erasers were hiding in the garage, armed and ready to kill. I shrieked and slammed the door, throwing myself against it. They couldn't get in the house. They couldn't get to Max. Now is one of those times when I really wished I was a mutant because this sucks major. They started trying the open the door. I was to weak to hold it closed. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a crowbar propped against the wall in Iggy's room. He was probably using it to build some sort of bomb. I locked the door, hoping that the obstacle would give me some time. I sprinted into Iggy's room and grabbed the crowbar, turning on a hair to rush back to the door. By the time I got there they already had the door busted open. I squeaked and took the straight side and forced it at one's head. I almost barfed when it went through the Eraser's skull. I let go of the crowbar as his body slumped backwards, knocking the others back. I screamed again and stumbled back. The Erasers started to step through the door, but a loud bang in the basement made them turn around. My heart was pounding and I was shaking.

"Ella?" I heard Iggy call.

"H-Help…" I whispered, scared to death as I stared at the Erasers.

* * *

**Hedgehogs like to swim.**

* * *

Iggy's P.O.V.

Well, you know, I was kinda just fumbling around listening to every sound echoing through my ears and every once in a while pounding the crap out of someone.

That's when I heard Ella shriek. I ran in the direction of her scream. When my feet hit gravel I knew where I was. I hurried to the garage and found the door up. I slipped in after hearing a door break and Ella scream again.

"Ella?!" I called.

"H-Help…" I heard her squeak. My wings unfolded and my fists flew up.

"Iggy watch-" she warned. I heard heavy footsteps rush towards me. I swung to my right, luckily I hit something. It wasn't a body that I hit...I think it was a rack of shelves because stuff started falling. I tried to dodge but some stuff wrapped around me. Maybe a water hose…?

"We can kill this one, right?" I heard an Eraser ask as a pair of paws wrapped around my throat.

"It's not needed anymore…" another answered. Oh no…

I thought quick, grabbing the water hose and wrapping it around the Eraser's neck. Now it was a test to see who could strangle the fastest. I think I won because his grip loosened and I shook my self free of the hose. I set my feet, ready for the next blow. I got it alright, right to the gut.

"Iggy! There's a chainsaw at your feet!" Ella cried. I blindly, ha ha get it, searched in vain for the chainsaw. My hands landed on it finally. Lets just say I went 'Jason' on their hind ends. All I needed was a hockey mask.

"Is that it?" I asked over the sound of the clattering chain.

"You did it Iggy!" Ella's voice chirped. I cut the chainsaw off.

"Is it gory?!" I asked with a grin.

"I almost lost my lunch," She laughed.

Splendid.

* * *

**It takes about 21+ days for a chicken egg to hatch.**

* * *

Ebony's P.O.V.

We flew from Miami out across the North Atlantic Ocean, swinging back in around Virginia. From Virginia we inched our way to the eastern Tennessee/Kentucky borderline.

We were exhausted, our wings ached, and we weren't sure we could go on. Dylan kept screaming over his shoulder for us to keep moving. We were making good time. Great time.

And as we landed neatly in the yard of old cabin, the cave behind us, I had the instant urge to run. To run away. I was trapped…cornered, or so I felt. Erasers were everywhere, crowding in large groups and then dispersing again. Some were actually attacking, others were just standing there bored. But in all this chaos there was a fine line from where the good ended and the evil began. A ring around the small cabin was clear and evident. We rushed there as fast as possible in a close cluster, fending off a few foes on our way. As we broke through the invisible line I heard some cheers. There, in this mess, stood Fang. He was bloody from head to toe. They had been fighting for hours on end.

"What are you doing?!" Gwen shouted as she stepped out of the group. Fang had an expression of relief for a second, but only a second.

"We're tired and almost beaten. Our line of defense has started to slowly loose ground," he said, his voice raspy and hoarse.

"You moron! You should be in there holding Max's hand! What are you doing out here?!" Gwen tried to sound mad, like she was really scolding him, but her grin gave her act away. Fang stood there, maybe in shock that he actually got to take a break. That he actually got to go to Max. He acted like we weren't even there for a second.

"GO!" Gwen barked. He gave one of his rare smiles, I guess it was his way of saying thanks, and ran into the cabin.

"Alright, Migration! Listen up!" Dylan ordered.

"Flair, I want you to go out of the ring and start from the back, moving forward. Burn all you can," Dylan turned to her and spoke rather quickly.

"You got it. Roasted Erasers on the double!" She gave a nod.

"Storm, I want you flying overhead keeping tabs on everyone. Anyone who needs help you give it. Your the safety net."

"Cool," Storm opened his wings once again.

"And if…if I go down as second in command you take my place, got that?" It took a lot for Dylan to say that.

"You're not-" Storm protested.

"I said do you understand?!" Dylan cut him off. He shot Storm a glare filled with daggers.

"Yessir."

"Ok! Kale, I want you to go Hulk. Throw people, break people, whatever you gotta do. Guard. That. Door," Dylan moved his attention to the little blond headed, brown eyed body builder.

"Will do, captain!" Kale stood straight.

"Ebony, go see if they need help inside. If not then I want you to keep Jester out of harms way, preferably in the house. If you have to you can use your speed in a last attempt. If anything gets in that house that isn't winged you kill it."

Well I didn't like that order. I could fight!

"Uhh…" I started to protest.

"Great!" He pushed Jes into my arms. I only sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Alex, go inside for healing. Your going to be our first aid."

"Alright," she shrugged.

"Jace, your going to be…how do I put this? Your going to be our human shield. I want you to stay around here and do the regular old 'protect base', but if someone is being repeatedly shot you step in. You know, since you're, like, made of diamond."

"Yah, sure," Jace just had on a 'I'm itching for the action!' expression.

"Melee…well you know what to do," Dylan mumbled. Melee smirked and nodded.

"Ice, freeze 'em and what not."

"You got it," Ice rubbed his hands together, wanting to get this show on the road.

"Umm…lets see…Gwen…" Dylan tapped his chin.

"I'll just fight," Gwen shrugged.

"No, I want you up on the roof as a lookout. And I also want you to be the messenger. Tell The Flock and the others who have been fighting to take a rest."

"Lookout? Well ok…" Gwen sounded bummed. She was the only one without a power, so I can see why.

"Alright! Lets do this!" Dylan grinned as he beamed at all of us. I do have to give him some credit for this battle plan. It was well thought out, and altogether awesome.

We broke apart and filled in our positions. I grabbed a hold of Jes and headed for the house. Then a big, burly body slammed into me. Jester was ripped out of my arms. I was pulled off my feet and tossed a yard or so away. My wings caught me last minuet and I managed to keep myself upright and get my feet in under me again.

The Eraser caught up, pushing me again, and again backing me up further from the safe haven I needed to reach. As a kick hit my side I lost balance and tucked myself into a ball, keeping my vital organs safe. The beast dug its claws into me as it lifted me up.

"Your a pretty little thing…" it taunted, "Im taking you back."

My heart almost stopped. Please no…

"Let. Her. Go!" I heard Jester shout. I opened my eyes to see the little boy turn a bright red and crash into the Eraser at full speed. Jes was completely red. Bright red. The Eraser yelled and dropped me. It clutched to its head, the spot where Jester had dropped down and decided to kick.

I pulled myself together and scrambled to latch onto Jester's arm. I took off in a sprint to the cave. We were close at least. I only bumped into a few Erasers on my way. Someone was chasing us and eventually my super speed kicked in. Yep, cheetah DNA comes in handy in times like this.

I rushed into the cave, my feet hitting with thuds as I slid here and there on the slick floors. I dove behind a jagged place in the cave wall. It was a corner, so to speak. I pulled Jes to me and told him to stay very quiet. My heart was pounding against my ribs, I was almost shaking by this point. Scared isn't even the word. Terrified doesn't cut it either.

I heard heavy footsteps and my grip tightened on Jes.

_'Weapon. I need a weapon!_' I thought to myself. That's when I remembered my hoop earrings. I know that they aren't ideal for fighting, but I like them. And today they might just save my life. I hurried and took one out. I bent it out straight with the help of my shoe and floor. It made a pretty good makeshift weapon. As the footsteps came nearer I gripped tighter to it, shifting Jes to sit beside of me. The Eraser was close now. He was standing at the edge of the corner. I mustered up all my courage and leapt out, shoving my knife/earing into the beast's eye. He yelled out in pain.

"Run!" I called to Jester. The next thing I knew we were sprinting from the cave and trying to get ti the cabin, taking off midway.

My heart didn't stop pounding. My thoughts didn't clear out. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. My fists wouldn't uncurl…

* * *

**This is the hardest chapter I've ever written.**

* * *

Jester's P.O.V.

We were going fast. I was scared. I wanted to be with Kale. Kale was big and strong. Kale could protect me. Don't get me wrong, I loved Ebony, but hiding behind Kale's wing just feels so much more comforting.

"Go, Jes!" Ebony pointed down at the cabin. I tucked in my wings and bombed out, recklessly landing in a tuck n' roll. She softly drifted down right behind me. I was shoved through the door and pushed to the hardwood floor. Ebony slammed the door and locked it in a hurry. She was heaving for air and her look of utter fear was completed with pale skin and beads of sweat on her brow. Only her pink lips stayed the same.

"Jester?!" I heard Ella call. Next thing I knew I was wrapped in a hug.

"Mom! The Migration is here!" Ella screamed at a door. Man this human was weird.

"Are you ok?" She asked, starting to check my arms. She noticed every single scratch.

"You poor baby," Ella swooned as she grabbed a first aid kit. Well this should be fun. They're going to treat me like I'm a baby for crying out loud! They always treat me like a baby. I wish I had a warm blanket to crawl under right about now, and a piece of cake. Yup, that's all I need in life. A blanket, some cake, and Kale.

* * *

**The plot of this story was thought up in a two hour time span. I had chapter one posted within 30 minuets after the plot was smoothed out.**

* * *

Jace's P.O.V.

I stood there, just watching. I should've seen what came next. I should've known. I blame myself.

The Eraser was charging at full speed for something. For someone. That's when I saw him run towards a tractor. Yes, you read right. A giant, red tractor. Sitting in front of the wheel was no other than Hillbilly himself.

As the massive beast lunged, so did Bo. This resulted in a quick tussle, ending with the Eraser standing and Bo's hair dyed red.

"Shoot it Nudge!" Hillbilly cried. Nudge scrambled to aim the shotgun and when she had it just right the Eraser turned around and grabbed a hold of her. He slung her down off the machine and knocked the gun away.

"Let go of her!" Hillbilly ordered as he jumped off the tractor onto the Eraser. He tried to fight back. Between his punches and heel kicks any regular human would've fallen to his strikes, but the Eraser flicked him off like he was an annoying fly.

Hillbilly regained himself and tried again, only to have a paw wrap around his throat and be repeatedly banged into the side of the tractor. Nudge pushed herself to her feet, hobbling, and spread her dark brown, tawny wings. She pushed herself into the air and landed her muddy shoes to the side of the Eraser's head. It winced and ducked.

I mentally screamed at myself to go. To help.

My wings spread behind me as I took off in a sloppy sprint towards the scene. I was almost to late. The Eraser recovered the shotgun and pointed it at Hillbilly's limp form. He was out, so when the beast's finger shifted to the trigger my heart almost stopped. Thank goodness my feet didn't. I got there just in time, slamming into the Eraser and sending both it and I to the ground. He did pull the trigger, but it just hit me and bounced off. I was glad that I had almost indestructible skin. I pulled the gun from the Eraser's hand and quickly twisted his wrist, breaking it and moving the gun to face his own neck. I hit the trigger, immediately ending the fight. Rolling off, I snuck a glance back to Hillbilly. He was coming to. His dog, however, was fully awake and whining. Nudge screamed something. It took a minuet to register.

"We have to get him out of here. Now," she ordered, latching on to Hillbilly's left arm. I nodded and stood up. As I pulled on his right arm he managed to pull himself up on his own two feet. How was I gonna get them out? We were on a freaking battlefield for gosh sakes! Enemy fire zipped all around us.

"Can you hear me, Symbrog? You're going to have to run, got that? Can you do that for me?" I yelled, shaking him. He looked up, the new cuts and bruises on his face showing that he couldn't take much more.

"Read ya loud n' clear," he mumbled. His words were slurred and he jerked his arms out of our grips. He stole a glance over to Bo and a frown tugged down at his lip. The old dog was torn to shreds. Hillbilly called to it and it stood, holding a leg up.

"We have to go," Nudge insisted, glancing around worriedly as a bullet zipped past.

"Run," we all three said in unison as more bullets were fired.

"Stay behind my wings!" I screamed as we took off. We made a mad dash for the cabin, barely making it. We collapsed inside the "safety circle", heaving for air. The old Pyrenees somehow made it, limping and jumping along the way.

"We made it. Zomg! We actually made it! Oh my zomg! What about the others? Are they ok? How many Erasers are there? They're like a plague. They just keep coming and coming. I thought for sure we were dead-" Nudge blabbered, but a loud boom shut her up. Gazzy was going at it again.

"Inside," I squeaked, "now." Hillbilly jumped up and drug Nudge with him to the door. It was apparently locked and he sat there banging on. Alex opened the door, motioning them all in. She shot me a knowing glance. I gave a smirk and a shrug before she shut the door, probably worrying over me. I tuned back to the fight and swung at another Eraser. This wasn't going to end anytime soon. I set my feet for another blow and took it to the chin. I fought back, wanting this to end.

I wanted us to just be a family again. I wanted us to go back to that stupid beach. I don't even care if they burry me alive again, just make this end. Make it end…

* * *

**If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.**

* * *

Alex's P.O.V.

The injuries rolled in and I took care of them, one by one. The "starters" rested, most falling asleep. I sat down near a window and watched out, hoping my family was safe. Hoping they were ok. My tail flicked carelessly around.

"I'm scared," 24's soft voice mused from behind me.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, sweetie. Everything's going to be fine. Soon we're all going to be feasting on chips and sodas, just you wait. There's nothing to be afraid of," I gave her a warm, fake smile as I lied to her. As I lied to myself. I turned back to the window and ran a hand through my red hair, sighing with exhaustion and worry.

I begged in my mind that they come back, safe and sound. I prayed that by the end of this day Max would sit there holding her newborn and the rest of us be sitting there telling our most likely exaggerated battle stories. I could only hope and dream, knowing deep down that fate probably had a different plan for us. It always did. Nothing was easy. Nothing was simple. No one was safe.

* * *

**The numbers '172' can be found on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.**

* * *

Ice's P.O.V.

Nope. This was not working. I'd freeze one, then break the ice and break their neck. The process repeated, taking a long time. It started to drain my energy, so I was forced to change tactics. I ended up making ice daggers and staking them into the enemy.

One Eraser in particular got on my nerves. He caught me off guard and shot. I cussed and dove, throwing up a wall made of ice. The bullet hit it and the wall cracked and creaked. My heart sped up and jumped to my throat as he shot a second. The wall broke down several bullets later, but I was ready and I knocked him off track with a kick. He jabbed me in the face with his elbow and spun me around, grabbing me by my white hair and positioning the dumb gun to my neck.

"You were quiet the fighter," he said, he was breathing hard from the scuffle.

"I know," I mumbled as I sucked in a deep break, "and I will be till the day I die. I have to keep scum like you off the doorstep."

"Well, looks like your fight ends here…" it teased, jostling the gun against my neck.

I closed my eyes and swallowed, slowly calming myself as I formed a sharp piece of ice in the palm of my hands.

"With you anyway," I sneered, bringing my hands up fast in a proficient motion, jabbing my shard of ice into his atoms apple. I swiped the gun away and bolted, leaving the Eraser to fall to his knees, dying slowly and gasping for air. I shivered and shook that close to death experience off as I searched for my next victim.

These monsters were not getting into that house. Period.

* * *

**In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.**

**Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.**

**The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.**

* * *

Storm's P.O.V.

I glanced down as I flew over the scenery, aka the war going on below. We were loosing. Our defensive stance was becoming sloppy and we had lost ground. I headed back for the cabin, landing effortlessly on the roof.

"Gwen," I started, "we're loosing ground. This plan isn't working."

She lifted her eyes from scanning over the perimeter and frowned.

"Are you saying that we're loosing? Have you told Dylan?" She asked, her voice sounded bored and dull.

"You can see exactly what I see. You see how we're loosing ground and I think they're getting tired. I haven't told Dylan. I need support first," I explained, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

Her foot scraped across a shingle as she inched around the roof.

"You want to call a retreat? How far?" She asked.

"I want…I want to abandon mission," I barely got out. Gwen stood rigid as a rod as she turned and looked at me like I had gone crazy.

"Are you insane?" She whispered.

"We're putting our lives in jeopardy..." I tried.

"I-I can't agree to that. I'm not telling them to run, Storm," she frowned.

Dylan picked the ideal (sarcasm) time to join in the conversation. He landed on the roof and looked at the two of us.

"What's wrong?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Dylan, this is ridiculous. We have to leave," I began.

"What?! We can't leave our own kind for dead! They need out help, Storm!" Dylan started to yell.

"And they got our help! Look, if we stay here and fight then we are as good as dead. They picked this, Dylan. They wanted us to live separate lives, so what are we doing fighting for them?!" I shot back.

"They need help. They'd do the same for us!" Dylan growled.

"Sure," I rolled my eyes.

"We. Are. Not. Leaving," he said sternly.

"You just don't want to leave her. The whole time in Miami you just wanted to come back to her, am I right?" I got in his face, my words dripping with venom.

"So what if you are? I was programmed that way. If your trying to suggest something then spit it up," Dylan sneered.

"You are unfit to be our leader," the second I said it I regretted it, but it was true.

He almost spat something back, but Gwen interrupted us with a loud, "GET BACK TO THE FIGHT!"

We both turned to her.

"We aren't leaving. We've shed blood, tears, and sweat over this cabin and the contents inside. Quit the bickering and get back out there! The more time you spend up here the less you help the battle below. We've fought to hard to abandon them now. Storm, if you wish to leave then please do so because your endangering lives with your failure to obey orders. Dylan, if we are here for Max then you have some serious explaining to do. Understand? Both of you need to get yourselves together for the sake of this family. Now, go do what you have to do," Gwen barked, her glare as cold as ice. We both swallowed and we glanced at each other.

"For the sake of the others?" I stuck out my hand. He grinned and shook it symboling truce.

"Lets win this," Dylan nodded. We both took off carrying a newfound respect for each other and Gwen.

I looked over our progress again and then finally took a break from the sky, joining in on the fight.

This was our life. Day to day we live with our guard up and our sanity down, but we keep each other together. We are a family, a really messed up family full of freaks...and that's just the way we like it.

* * *

**The most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $1.3 million. {I LOVE COWS!}**

* * *

Flair's P.O.V.

And another one down, and a another one down. And another bites the dust! Yah, another one down, another one down…

Fighting to a song really helps. I was literally frying them. I'd blast one with a ball of fire and it'd hit another and the process would go on and on. Sometimes, when I could get angry enough, I would blast a continuos streak of fire from my palms. I was a human flame thrower.

"I've got the pyro!" An Eraser cheered as he grabbed me from behind in something like a giant bear hug. He had an iron grip on me and I tried to twist and turn to get away, but it wouldn't work. My arms were pinned to my sides and my screaming wasn't getting me anywhere. That's when I lit myself on fire, a little move I call torch. The Eraser howled in pain and let go of me. I threw myself forward, out of its arms. He collapsed and his buddies attacked next. I, still on fire, brought a fiery foot up where the sun don't shine. There's another move I call flaming, and no it has nothing to do with being mean in the cyberspace world. Anyway, I kept fighting and eventually resorted in blue flames. Those took a lot out of me. I mean, a lot. I grew tired and my fighting came sloppy. I was starting to think that this was never going to end. Then I spotted a tractor and I thought 'Why not?' as I ambled over.

The Gasman beat me to it. He pulled a lighter out from under the tractor seat and flicked it on. He then lit a cigaret and laid it on top of the gas tank area. Gazzy snickered and ran and I watched with anticipation. One giant boom and thousands of metal pieces later the tractor was left nothing but a mere memory. It was ah-mazing! Gazzy strutted over and slapped me a high five.

"Awesome right?" He smiled as soot fell off his clothes.

"Totally, but your supposed to be inside. Your shift ended like two hours ago," I joked.

He fist pumped and ran for the cabin. Yep, we're all pyromaniacs here!

"Shoot her!" A voice shouted. And I soon felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I turned around and practically spit fire, giving whoever it was all I had. I grimaced at the sight of several beasts running around on fire. I looked at my shoulder and was glad to see that it wasn't that bad, but man did it hurt. I picked the bullet out and almost doubled over.

"Flair? Are you ok?" I heard Storm call. I looked up to see him flying above me.

"Uh, yah," I squeaked.

"Well, I have a plan. Can you get back to the cabin?" He acted like I was a four year old.

"Im not disabled," I snapped as I spread my wings and flew up past Storm.

"Good," Storm nodded as he streaked past me. I followed, not liking how he was practically racing me.

I quickly landed in front of the cabin. Storm immediately started ranting on about how he wanted me to light a ring of fire around the cabin and how I could keep pushing it back to expand our borders and blah, blah, blah.

"Storm," I interrupted his blabbering, "I understand."

He smiled sheepishly and nodded as I started a tiny ring of fire and tried to grow it.

"Standing next to all this fire makes my skin crawl," Storm grumbled.

"Ha, I can see why," I smirked as the flames reached above our heads. An Eraser tried to barge through. That didn't end well for him.

"I think we could win this thing…" Storm whispered. And that's when they started shooting through the fire.

"Duck!" I cried to the others. We all threw ourselves to the ground and covered our heads.

"Ok…did not see that coming…" Storm frowned.

"Stupid," I said simply as I pushed the wall out further.

* * *

**The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.**

**The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.**

* * *

Dylan's P.O.V.

I watched below, my sight letting me see in close and allowing me to know exactly what was going on. Everyone on our side moved into Flair's wall, the Erasers were left to fight through it. That wasn't going so well for them, until they started shooting through. Dang it. I spotted The Herd moving along very slowly. They watched the Erasers carefully as they planned their own attack.

Honestly, from above this looked like a war zone. It was, somewhat. Flair was doing pretty good. She was burning the wolf men alive, one by one. As she grew the front of the ring thicker the back shrunk. Soon, the back of the cabin was unguarded and The Herd took their chance. They snuck to the back door, almost all armed. I dove, refusing to let them in. I landed, kinda clumsily, in front of them. I balled my fists and held them up. Ox, the leader, stared at me for a moment before a chuckle escaped his lips. I gritted my teeth and brought my knuckles to his face, throwing him to the dust. That felt pretty good. I was pretty mad about…this whole situation. I still held a creepy grudge against Fang, and I still wanted Max. It was weird. The thing was, I never found any other girls pretty. Not a one. So the feeling of love just doesn't exist for me anymore. It's sad. I can't feel anything, I mean other than the sad love for Max, but you get the point. Do you know how creepy it is to, like, love someone with your whole heart when you don't really want to. I don't want to love Max, really I don't. I just can't shake the feeling. It's…weird. When we visited my mom, or should I say the original me's mom, I saw a picture of Dylan 1's girlfriend. A small part of me wanted to say she was pretty. That I really liked her, but I just physically couldn't. It was sick. I want to love…I need to before I go mentally insane, but I can't. It's like…falling down a bottomless pit. Things just keep getting darker, colder, but the trip never ends. You just continually fall for your whole life, each day getting a little harder to breath.

Anyway, when I punched Ox it was like an exhilarating feeling. I quickly made a mental note to get a punching bag in my next life. Then some guy who was like 6'8 raised a gun and shot at me. I dodged, barely, and countered it with a sloppy left hook to the jaw. The boy shoved me back and shot again. His aim was off and I was left without a hole in my heart. My wings swiped out and I brought one down on gianormo's arm, causing him to drop the gun. A girl with white hair jumped forward with some sort of wicked grace and did a roundhouse kick to my ribs. I lost all the breath in my lungs as I stumbled back, gasping for air.

"Nice, Palomino," the big guy snickered.

"Not so bad yourself, Bigfoot," Palomino replied with a pearly white smile.

"Altsoba, can you kick this door in?" A boy with ears asked.

"Unsure," Altsoba said simply as he peered at the back door. I pulled myself together and tried to get up, but I heard the click of a gun and found myself rigid as a rod as the boy with ears placed something cold against my forehead.

"I suggest you don't move," the boy warned, his ears twitching.

"I suggest you get that d*** gun out of my face," I sneered.

"Macto, be careful," Ox warned.

"Yah, Macto, your mommy says be careful," I taunted. Ox rolled his eyes as he went to help Altsoba break the door in.

I sat there, feeling completely useless. That's when I decided to just go. I shot up, pushing Macto's hand to the side. He pulled the trigger, accidentally shooting Altsoba. I jerked the gun from his hand and shot, luckily hitting his leg. Bigfoot leapt on me and I was shoved back to the ground. I doubt to get the gun up and shot again, blowing Bigfoot's ear off.

"Shoot him!" Palomino cried to Ox.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Ox panicked. Bigfoot wailed and rolled off of me, clutching his ear. Ox eventually did shoot at me and it hit my side. I fired back at him, hitting his hands and causing him to drop the gun.

"Retreat!" Ox barked in a shaky voice as I rolled to my feet and shot at him again. The others were way ahead of him, already racing for the woods. I grabbed Ox and started pounding his face in again. My knuckles were busted and my side hurt like crap, but I pushed through it. Ox struck back, busting my lip and making my nose bleed. We went into an all out fist fight. Ox grabbed my shoulders and slung me against the wall, but it wasn't a wall. We hit a window and fell through, shards of glass jabbing and slicing at us. Ox pinned me. My hand wrapped around a piece of glass and I stabbed him with it, right above the collar bone. He screamed and let go of me, stumbling backwards. I watched him leave. It was funny to watch him climb out the window, crying and disoriented. I laid there, in a sea of broken glass. I was cut everywhere and crimson started to pool around me.

"Dylan?!" someone called. Ryan.

"It's me!" I laughed, my words slurred as I panted for air.

"Dude, what did you do to the window?!" He frowned as he helped me to my feet.

"I…broke it!" I grinned. He helped me limp to the living room.

"Alex," Ryan started, "you've got your work cut out for you."

Alex sighed and wandered over, starting to pick glass out of my back and wings, healing as she went along. She even fixed the gunshot wound.

"You so owe me," she frowned as she bandaged my knuckles.

I chuckled. "No…"

"Yes. You have to take us shopping for new clothes," she insisted.

"Fine, but I'm not going with you," I said sternly.

"It's a deal," she grinned, "there all fixed up!"

"Who was it?" Iggy questioned.

"The Herd," I said simply, glad the sun was out so The Dark Angels couldn't join in. Just as I opened the door Ice busted in, carrying an unconscious Flair.

"She over used her power," he sighed as he laid her down on the sofa. I looked outside and the fire wall was down. Great. Just great…

I hurried outside to see us up to our necks in Eraser freaks. I raced back inside and tried to plan something quickly.

"Angel! Can you do anything about this?!" I called.

"Gosh, you don't have to scream! But I can't do anything…" Angel mumbled.

"Can you convince them to do something…?" I asked.

"Maybe," Angel shrugged.

"Who's the leader?" I questioned as I peered out the window.

"Him," Angel pointed to a giant Eraser wearing a headset.

"Good," I nodded, running back outside.

"Dylan! What do we do?!" A panicky Kale yelled.

"I've got a plan," I smiled. Gwen spun around, along with Storm.

"Um, a well thought out plan, Dyl?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"No," I shrugged, causing Storm to tense, "but it just might be mad enough to work."

"Oh no…" Gwen shook her head.

"Ok so someone has to go annoy the crap out of the guy with the headset and get him to chase you, so we can lead them all away and I can sneak a bomb out of Gazzy's room. Then we could attack them all at one time and boom, we'd be safe," I explained.

"That's stupid," Storm frowned.

"Well, do you have a better plan?" I snarled.

* * *

**Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards.**

* * *

Kale's P.O.V.

"Run! Run run run run!" Gwen shrieked as she shoved me. We had to go with Dylan's crazy idea and we had practically annoyed the beast until he wanted to rip our throats out. Lets just say I pretty much crammed my finger up the guy's nose, called him Spot, petted him, told him to howl at the moon, suggested an over the counter flea medicine, and poked his chest repeatedly.

So yah, now we're being chased. Gwen looks stressed. I threw on a lopsided grin as I glanced over at her. Her dark brown hair flowing behind her and her green eyes focused on the terrain ahead. Those bright green orbs turned to look into mine and my heart flew up to my throat.

"This was a stupid idea…" she began to rant on, "…I mean, we can't run forever! They're gonna catch up!…"

"You're so sexy," I chuckled as I pumped my arms faster at my side.

"What?!" She have me a quizzical look, drifting back in shock.

I laughed some more, not paying attention to where I was going. I regret that. I soon found myself tripping over a rather large rock and face planting into the soil.

"Hurry! Get up!" Gwen cried as she tugged on my arms.

"I'm coming! Man that hurt!" I grumbled as I pushed myself to my feet, it sounded more like, "Emms omin! Man at hurse!"

"What?" Gwen frowned.

"RUN!" I cried as I pushed her forward. Erasers were gaining.

"Where are they?!" She breathed. We had been running for a while. Sweat poured off us and my muscles were aching. I glanced up to spot three bird kids hovering a mile or so above our heads.

"There," I mumbled pointing up. She fist pumped the air. Our moment of joy and happiness was interrupted with a shrill scream. My head whipped back, my legs still pumping. Gwen was down.

Aww shucks…

I spun around, dust flying from my sudden change of direction. I scooped Gwen up, but not before the enemy caught us. They punched at us, causing me to drop Gwen. She scrambled to her feet and started fighting back. The "leader" of the Erasers knocked me to the ground, pinning me.

"Whoa, you're a little to close. Please get off me, I'm straight," I said sternly as he bent down and got face-to-face.

"I'm gonna gut you, little piggy," The Eraser King growled.

"Oink oink!" I giggled as I flicked his nose. He was so surprised he went stiff, so I pushed him off and rolled back up to my feet. Well that was a score!

"Get. The. Frick. OFF ME!" Gwen's voice commanded. I hear a chorus of 'ow's, 'ooh's, and gasps. A few screams here and there. Then Gwen came barreling through Erasers. She finally reached me, covered in blood with a gunshot wound right under her ribs.

"Gwen…" I said, a tinge of concern in my voice as I reached to pick her up.

"I'm fine," she assured, "lets go."

We were running again and Gwen chirped up to what we hope was Dylan to throw the bomb. And it was thrown, right in the middle of the Eraser clump. Gwen and I looked over our shoulders and saw chunks of Lupine American flying everywhere. Then the blast hit us and we were thrown forward.

It was unreal, the power, the heat. It's like the world had gone still for a minuet. You couldn't hear…you couldn't see…you didn't feel. It was like...like a bomb had gone off. Boom.

Somehow I ended up on the ground. With my vision blurry and an annoying ringing noise in my ear I forced myself to sit up.

Gwen…where is she?

I glanced around until I spotted her limp form curled up about ten feet away. I crawled over and pulled her close.

"Kale?" She croaked. I wiped the blood off her forehead and kissed it.

"What the heck just happened?" She grumbled.

"We just got…BOMBED!" I chuckled.

"I'm so enthused..." Gwen said sarcastically as she got up on wobbly legs. I followed right behind. Dylan, Iggy, and Gazzy landed. All three were proud.

"You almost killed us!" I joked.

"I'm upset that I had to hear the word _almost_," Iggy grinned.

"Guys! We won! Now lets go home!" Gazzy hurried.

"What's the rush?" Gwen raised an eyebrow as we took off.

"Max was having the baby when we left and Gazzy thinks he needs to start teaching it about bombs ASAP," Iggy explained.

"Fang is gonna wear a hole in the floor with his pacing," Dylan grumbled, "He's worrying the others to death."

We all flew silently. Dylan chewed on his lip the whole time, probably really depressed and angry or something. We landed and rushed inside quickly. Everyone stood around gawking with 'ooh's and 'ah's, but they spun around at the sound of the door opening.

"You made it! What took you so long?!" Nudge babbled, "Max had twins! They're, like, so cute. Two little girls! Yay! I can dress them up and put makeup on them when they get older! And…"

"Sorry, we were exploded," Gwen mumbled as she peered between the crowd at Fang cradling his two newborn girls.

"Gwen, I'm going to have to take care of your wounds," Dr. M said as she pulled Gwen back.

"I'm fine, Alex can fix it," Gwen shrugged, but you could tell she was really hurting.

"Alex passed out from over extending herself. I have to stop the bleeding," Dr. M explained. Gwen wiped some blood away from her temple.

"I'm fine," she whispered. I laid a hand on Gwen's shoulder and she just kinda sighed and gave in. Dr. M pulled her through the crowd and into the "delivery room". It's also known as the guest bedroom, but whatever floats your boat. I stayed and stared at the two sleeping forms in Fang's arms. They are what we risked our lives for? Two little baby girls were worth our lives? Oh yah, you better believe it.

* * *

**The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear. Any cup-shaped object placed over the ear produces the same effect. {MY CHILDHOOD IS RUINED!} **

* * *

Gwen's P.O.V.

I noticed first thing that Dylan didn't come into the cabin with us. He didn't come in. I was worrying to myself about his strange actions the whole way into the room.

"What are you doing?" I heard Max moan tiredly. I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice that we were in "the room".

"Just playing doctor again," Dr. M smiled.

"Where's the girls?" Max sat up, frowning.

"Fang is showing them off. You're safe. We finished the Erasers," I smirked at her obliviousness.

"I didn't need Dylan's help…" Max's words were slurred.

"Honey…" Dr. M started. I shook my head at the Doctor, a message saying, 'Let it go.'

Max laid down and went back to sleep. Dr. M wiped down all my wounds with rubbing alcohol, causing me to suck in sharp breaths and hold back screams.

"All done!" Dr. M announced thirty minuets later. I had to change my shirt by the time it was all said and done because blood had soaked it. I felt like a mummy with all bandages wrapped around me. As I went to the door and grabbed the door knob, Fang yanked the door open. He looked tired and proud all at once.

"Uh…" I stuttered awkwardly as I tried to push past him.

"Tell Dylan," he whispered, "tell him thank you." Wow. Fang thanking Dylan?! What is this world coming to?!

I opened the door and slipped back out into the living room/waiting room. Everyone was slapping high fives and cheering.

"Pop the bubbly stuff!" Jace boomed. Just then you could see Ella start passing out grape soda. Ice popped the tab and guzzled it.

This was our victory celebration. We did it. We won. Take that evil freaks, Jeb, Dwyer, Chu, Night, Ox, and every other being in this big wide world that wants to kill us!

We all broke into song. We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You, to be exact. We kept the beat, stomping our feet and clapping our hands. You know you really can't blame us, look at our leader. I mean, he breaks into random love songs 24/7.

Speaking of Dylan… He wasn't here. He never came in.

"Kale," I called over Dr. M's cries of 'Drink lots of fluids!'. He turned around, grinning.

"I'm going to go check on Dyl!"

"Alright! I be partying!" He shrugged as they continued singing.

I made my way outside and looked around for Dylan. I freaked out when I couldn't find him. When I spotted his form alongside the bodies of the fallen my heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. I sprinted over, landing hard on my knees beside him.

To my surprise his eyes flicked open and he glanced over at me. Blood ran down from the sides of his mouth and he had multiple gunshot wounds to his middle. He was gut shot, or something in that category. Bullets had gone all the way into a vital organ, causing him to cough and spit up blood.

"Gwen?" he croaked, looking up at me.

"Oh gosh, Dyl. What happened?" I whispered as I tried to wipe blood away.

"Eraser…still alive…ambush…machine gun…" he choked out. I looked to the left and saw a dead Eraser with the barrel of a machine gun down his throat. It was quiet a kill.

"Ok, I need you to breathe," I started.

"I'm gone," Dylan mumbled, "Tell Storm he's your leader now. Tell the others I'm sorry."

"Don't talk like that, now come on…" I interrupted. Dylan crammed a piece of paper in my hand. The receipt from the pizzas. I stared at it for a moment, confused, before I realized there was a note written on the back. Thats when his Caribbean blue eyes closed and he sucked in a shallow breath. I was frozen with fear and shock, unable to move or scream.

"D-Dylan?" I barely chocked out, blinking back tears as I checked for a pulse.

I held my breath, hoping, just hoping that he was still alive, but the steady rise and fall of his chest was no longer there. No response. No pulse.

* * *

•_•

* * *

**REVIEW!**

**1: Did I do good with writing this/do you like this style of writing?**

**2: are you impressed or disappointed?**

**3: Who had the best kill?**

**4: Who was your favorite P.O.V.?**

**5: McCormick or John Deer?**


	66. Move On

**Move On**

**-**THREE DAYS LATER**-**

Gwen's P.O.V.

I still couldn't believe it. Dylan was gone, for good this time. At least he defied YOLO, right? I cried my eyes out as I went to get the others. We all rushed to his body. His cold, still, stiff body. The Migration broke into tears as The Flock tried to keep theirs in. The day ended with all of us sobbing. The note Dylan left, the one on the pizza receipt, was addressed to me. Yes, _only_ me...excluding one portion. One excerpt he asked for me to read aloud to the others. I couldn't read it that day. The day of his death. I just..._couldn't_. I was stunned myself by the contents of the note, so how was I supposed to tell the others? Well, the next day, which was yesterday, I wo-manned up and read it.

**{A/N: ****_italics=note _****regular=well, regular story telling}**

_Dear... anyone who cares about me, _

Ice chuckled at this.

_ It's me, dying Dylan. You're probably wondering how I knew you'd get this. Well, my power had advanced. I could (man, it's hard writing in past tense!) see the future. _

Everyone's eyes widened at this.

_Yes, I knew what was coming. When did I get this power? That day at McDonalds…you all remember. My first beer(s). _

We all nodded and paused for a minuet, remembering.

_Yah, that's when I saw everything. At first, I just thought I was drunk and wasted, but then the visions started happening when I was sober. Reason number one why I continued to guzzle, it made me forget. There Kale, now you understand._

Kale tried to dodge all of glares that said "You shouldve told us!"

_Close your jaw Storm. Gosh, it's like I was a criminal or something. _

Storm's jaw was almost to the floor. He snapped it close quickly and acted like nothing happened as he crammed his hands in his pockets.

_Anyway, I had some things to say and some apologies to spit out. First off I'm sorry guys. I'm sorry that I'm not going to be there to lead, I'm sorry I left you in Storm's hands. _

We all gave a flat chuckle to that. Yep, that was Dylan for ya.

_I'm sorry that I'm not going to be there when Ebony says yes and bursts into tears while Storm slips the diamond ring on her finger. _

Well if that wasnt an 'aww' moment. They both blushed and sadness sent a sharp pang to my heart.

_I'm sorry Alex, that I'm not going to be there when you walk down the aisle in that big, poofy, white dress and Jace screws up his vows. _

Tears pricked in my eyes as I read this aloud.

"Y-You would do that," Alex said, wiping tears away as she glanced to a beet red Jace.

_I'm sorry, Jester, that I'm not going to be there when Storm mentally scars you with 'the talk'. _

Storm huffed and crossed his arms. While Jes looked sick.

"Eww!" The little one gagged.

_Melee, sweetheart, I'm sorry that I'm not there to scold your to-be human boyfriend when he takes you out on a date and misses curfew. _

Melee rolled her eyes.

_I'm sorry Flair, that I'm not there to keep you and Ice away from that Vegas hotel room. _

At that one we burst into laughter. Ice blushed madly and it didn't go well with his white hair.

_Sparks, the answer is no, just go with it. 24, I think you'll like your new name_.

The two girls looked confuzzled.

_Ryan, dude when Selene leaves you home with the kid do not try to change its diaper. Please? _

Ok, now that was funny. It's kinda scary how I can imagine Dylan here saying this.

_Gwen, Kale, well I want the best for you two. A family, a life, maybe even some fame? _

Kale raised an eyebrow and I only shrugged.

"This whole thing is coded," I explained.

_You all have to take care of each other, alright? You have to stay with the Flock now, it's where we were meant to be. _

We all glanced around at each other, giving curt nods. I guess we're their guardians now. I'm cool with that. I mean, did you read what happens when we aren't here!

_I'm sorry that I wasn't what you all deserved, what you all wanted and needed. I'm so sorry that I'm not going to be there in your lives, but hey most of you find that as a good thing. I love you all, to the depths of my heart I love you all. Please just don't forget me ok? I know I wasn't that great, but I really did try. _

Well now the tears are pouring, even though we all try to keep them back. We were going to miss our leader.

_I was sitting here, balling my eyes out, not wanting to leave. I missed the fun times we had together. I would've given anything to get them back. I'm so sorry_.

He was crying, yah. That stung.

Um, I guess we owe Max and Fang a congrats on their two daughters, _right? Avis Aquila Ride and Eva Raven Ride grow up to be rather sweet, attractive girls, but they can't do that without you, Migration. _

At these words the group froze, like Ice had decided to make human-cycles again.

"How'd he know...?" Max trailed off before the fact that he could tell the future popped back into her thoughts. She held one of the babies closer. Fang glanced down to the other that was rested in his own arms.

_You have to stay and watch over them. Guard them. That's my last mission I give you all. I died for them, so should you, because they will save the world. _

"Hurray, our lives are in the hands of the toothless demon spawn," Ice said sarcastically.

"At least it's not in yours," I hushed as I continued to read.

_Max, you did save the world. See! Ha, just not in the way you figured. Even though I still loved you, it did occur to me in those last few moments that you're better with Fang. _

Maximum eyes me like those words weren't really there. I just ignored her.

_I guess I have to give your gothic husband there some credit for saving the world too, but… I still hate that moron. You can't beat the crap out of me now, Fang! Finally! _

Fang only sighed and shook his head, like Dylan was a tad crazy. Which, you know he was.

_Well, good luck guys. I'm sorry, again. I know you're gonna miss my Colgate smile and my hotness, I guess you'll just have to deal. _

_ Goodbye and good luck, _

_ Prophet Dylan out!_

When it was all said and done we were laughing through the tears with pitiful chuckles. That's when little miss Avis Aquila Ride, or Ava for short, decided to start crying. Max tried to adjust her to a more comfortable laying position, but Ava only wailed louder and held her little fists up. The messy clump of dirty blond hair on the top of her head was jumbled and sticking up in all directions. The poor thing was beet red, and she was showing no signs of stopping. As Max grew frustrated so did Ava. Fang switched off with Max, handing over a peacefully sleeping Eva Raven Ride for her twin sister. Eva had dark brown hair, like Ella's and Dr. M's. Her skin tone was a little lighter than their Hispanic, darker skin. This contrasted with Ava's olive tinged skin, a trait handed down by the Orksmith side. As soon as Ava was handed over to Fang she fell silent. Her little eyes were losing that newborn baby blue color and were turning into a green. She looked around and acted as if she had no emotion. That's when I got an idea.

"Fang! Let me see Ava!" I practically yelled. He gave me a wary look before I rolled my eyes and held out my hands. He handed her over cautiously, like she was a delicate vase. When Ava met my embrace she started reaching for my hair and for my nose. 'She's curious, my emotion at the minuet...' I thought to myself.

"Kale!" I broke him out of his grieving daze, "Hold Ava."

"NO!" Max snapped, causing Eva's darkening brown eyes to snap open and stare unhappily up to her mother.

"It's fine. I'm testing something," I tried. Ok _testing_ might've not been the right word to use... Anyway, I handed her over to Kale and the baby's attitude changed completely. She started crying silently and she looked sad, letting a tiny frown spread across her face. I then snatched her from Kale and gave her to Ebony, who instantly started swooning over the baby. Ava clutched to Ebony, not wanting to leave. I quickly switched the baby to Ice. He held it at an arms length away. Ava became fussy and would give a sharp, shrill scream every once in awhile. I took her back to me and she began tugging on my hair again.

"What did that prove?" Max asked, still not getting it. I passed Ava back to Fang and she had the same reaction as before.

"I figured out her power," I said simply.

Maximum only raised an eye brow.

"Empathy," I grinned at my achievement. I felt über smart. Max chewed on the word for a moment.

"She has empathy? Are you sure she's Fang's?" Iggy teased. Gazzy snickered. Max rolled her eyes.

"Guys, there's another direction that I'm supposed to 'carry out'," I interrupted their little to-be argument.

They had looked at me like I was crazy.

"We need to go to Kale's mom's house. There's something we're supposed to find there..."

And so yah, that's how it went. After about a hour and a half of trying to explain to Storm that he couldn't read the note because it was only meant for me we all had a good nights sleep, preparing ourselves for the flight ahead.

This morning Hillbilly said goodbye. He told us he was going to go "hunker down" in his little makeshift cabin in the woods. He insisted that we shouldn't worry and that we should take all the cash in his wallet. He claimed that he wouldn't need it anymore. He was going to live in his "little slice of heaven on earth". That heaven was the forest. The mountains. We refused at first, but Melee settled it. She simply grabbed the money and crammed it in one of the packs.

"There," she said with a smirk, "Fixed."

John Symbrog headed up the hillside, and it was a stinging feeling to think that this could've been the last we see of him. Bo tagged along. His terrible excuse for a mother would have to either take care of the farm, or sell it. Redneck would have a burial that practically no one would attend. But she knew, she knew we loved her. And somehow, in all that she had said to us in the past indicated that a little piece of her would always be with us. She had gone to a better place. She was now at peace.

And so was Dylan, no matter how much we hated to admit it. His heart was broken, but his ego never faltered. He was a friend, a brother, a leader. He was on a broken road, always walking on the edge. Dylan never felt completeness in his day. He never got Max. He never loved another. He walked around with a never ending stinging feeling. Anguish. But he got joy from us. From our happiness. Although he wasn't the perfect leader he always pulled through for us. We'd really miss him.

We took off at approximately 10:00 am sharp. It's now 4:23 and we lost all sanity four hours ago.

The wind scared the babies half to death at first. They wailed and cried and screamed. Fang ended up tucking them both in his black leather jacket and they are sleeping quietly right now. The funny thing is Dr. M demanded that they be dressed in onesies and wrapped in thick baby blankets. Ava ended up in a pink bundle and Eva in a identical purple get-up.

"Ok! Anyone want to go over the phonetic alphabet again?!" Storm called back to the rest of us.

"Please no!" Ice covered his ears. Yes, Storm had told us about his whole military obsession and now we had to memorize the alphabet to go along with it.

"C'mon guys!" He pleaded.

"Fine!" Ebony snapped, "A is alpha."

Storm grinned.

From there it went on and on, each of us shouting out the words.

"B is for bravo!"

"C is for Charlie!"

"D is for delta!"

"E is for Echo!"

"Foxtrot!"

"Golf!"

"Hotel!"

"India!"

"Juliet!"

"Kilo!"

"Lima!"

"Mike!"

"November!"

"Oscar!"

"Papa!"

"Quebec!"

"Romeo!"

"Sierra!"

"Tango!"

"Uniform!"

"Victor!"

"Whiskey!"

"X-ray!"

"Yankee!"

"And Z is for Zulu!"

No, we didn't make that up. It's real. And now it's burned into our memories because we've been chanting it for the past two hours or so. Storm looked proud. I looked po'ed. This was torture! And now he was naming "evasive maneuvers" to go along with each word.

One funny thing was that Kale had to carry Dr. M, and she was holding on for dear life. Iggy was carrying Ella. That's how we transported the humans. No school bus for us anymore. It was kinda depressing, like we left a part of our lives behind. The cave, the cabin, the bus, the woods. Everything.

It was nice to see Jes changing the color of birds and clouds. We were slowly bouncing back to our happy selves.

-3. 18 hours later!-

We were here. At the Arbrown's doorstep. Kale knocked lightly and we waited. And waited. And waited some more... We stood there until Nudge started ranting on about the patio furniture. Kale simply opened the door and walked in, the rest of us following. I heard a loud burst of giggles and a set of feet padding across the floor. The set of feet belonged to a little black haired, brown eyed girl. But she wasn't so little anymore. Sylvia Orksmith was now eight years old. She'd be nine in three weeks. Her hair was in a pony tail and she was wearing a pink skirt and a frilly white tank-top. Yes, just like Sylvia to be a girly girl. Ever since she was two she wore a tutu around, pretending that she was a fairy princess. It drove Carl crazy and he'd always act like he was a cowboy. He'd end up "lassoing" her. This was really just wrapping about three things of Mom's floss around her and then piling pillows on top. Those were the days.

Now my little sister turned her big, questioning eyes to me. She felt so much like a stranger. Like I had never seen the spark of life in her eyes glint before. It was sad...I had forgotten who my baby sister was. She was just a shadow in my mind, like Carl had been before I saw met his "new side". Well anyway, that shadow just got some light cast on it because Sylvia was now running at me at full speed. I caught her in a giant bear hug, pulling her close to me while tears threatened to slide down my cheeks.

"I missed you thissy!" Sylvia whispered. She had always had a lisp. And she was surprisingly short for an eight year old. I picked her up and kissed her forehead.

"Aww!" Kale beamed as he wrapped his arms around the both of us. I felt a tear stream down.

"I s'ought you were dead!" Sylvia whimpered.

"Y-You can't kill an Orksmith," if that wasn't the truth. Trust me, we tried with Dan.

"I know," she pulled back and smiled.

"Mandy! I CAN'T FIND THE KID!" A bulky figure came into view. I knew him, even if he had aged and matured. Even if he had grown a goatee and he had dropped the baby fat. His name was Robert, Robert Williams. Aka Dylan 1's best friend and his fellow popular jock. Rob's frantic jog through the house came to a halt. He was only five feet away, his eyes wide and unbelieving. Then he paled and stepped a little closer.

"R-ROBERT?!" Kale was almost cheering. Rob came at a full sprint at Kale, who had recently let go of me. The two bro-hugged it out.

"A-Am I hallucinating?" Rob croaked.

"Nope," Kale grinned popping the 'p'. They pulled away and stared at each other for a moment.

"Who's at the door, babe?" Came Mandy's sweet, sing-song voice from somewhere in the house. Then I saw her. She wasn't 14 anymore, no she was 18 going on 21. Her legs were an obvious fake spray on tan with five inch high heels at the end. Her skirt barely covered her butt and her "Hooters", I guess she works at the restaurant, shirt was so boat-necked that I was afraid something was going to fall out. Her name was Amanda Bluss, and she was the hottest chick in school and the lead cheerleader. Or at least when I was there.

"Um, ghosts?" Rob tried. Mandy strutted, and I mean like she was on broadway, into the living room. Her giant red glossed lips formed in a donut shape when she spotted us. Her eyes widened and the eyeliner made her look like she had dark rings around bright blue orbs. Blush was patched here and there. She looked like a Barbie doll, complete with the fake blond hair curled up at the ends. She flashed a brilliantly fake smile as she held held a perfectly manicured hand up to her mouth and walked over, her hips swaying. She gave Kale a pathetically girly hug, to which he kinda just stood there and acted like he was a statue. I knew the perfume she was wearing was probably going to act like chloroform and knock him out if she didn't let go.

I set Sylvia down and her little hand fitted into mine. Mandy pulled back from Kale and stared at him again.

"You look so much like your brother!" She swooned, her words somewhat hurt. Inside she probably was feeling a dull, yet throbbing pain at the absence of Dylan.

You see, Mandy and Dylan were practically in some sort of relationship since fourth grade. Even then Mandy was Dylan's "girlfriend". They had known each other since second grade and the three of them, Dylan, Rob, and Amanda, had always been the closest of friends. Rob knew Dylan since he was in diapers, the boys did everything together. The three held the highest place in School as the "Pop. Trio!". This was really just the most popular kids in middle school. I'm pretty sure Rob and Mandy still carried that title through high school. Now things were different. There was no Dylan, or Kale. I guess Rob stepped up to take Dylan's place, and Mandy stayed "Queen".

I cleared my throat and she glanced over at me, her usual happy presence turned cold, and her glance switched to a glare.

"Gwen Orksmith," was all she got out, and I noticed the curl of her lip when she said it. I gave a curt nod. The history between me and her was ruff. Lets just say that spilling noodles on her new "to die for shirt" was not a wise move...

She turned to me and I wanted to b-slap her and then turn and show her my newly reformed a** as I skipped out the door. Mandy pinched at my waistband and side. Yes, Mandy I am skinny now, thanks for checking.

"And I see you dropped the fat roles and cut back on the twinkies," She teased.

'And I see you want your pretty little face screwed up!' I thought in my mind.

"Don't," I snarled as I peeled her hand off, "touch me."

"Oh, sorry for offending you. I'm just surprised is all," Mandy flashed me another blinding smile.

"It's fine, glad to see you," I mocked back in her tone. Her smile faltered for a second.

"Kale! We must call your mother! Like OMG! She's going to be, like, so thrilled!" Mandy pulled out her I-Phone, complete with a glittery case. I sighed and face-palmed.

"IM TEXTING AND FACEBOOK-ING ABOUT THIS!" She squealed.

"No!" I shrieked, plucking the smart phone from her grasp and literally dropping it to the ground and stomping on it. She screeched and stared at me, fuming.

"Omg you did not just break my phone!" She growled, crossing her arms.

"Lol, yes I did," I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"HOW AM I GOING TO CALL HIS MOM IF YOU-" she was quickly cut off with Rob slapping a hand over her mouth and speaking rather frantically into his own cellphone.

"Dude, no his little bro. No! Not Dyl-. DUDE! Get with the program here! I don't care if your grandmother just fell down the stairs! A missing person is standing right in front of me! Am I high? THAT WAS THE ONE TIME J-," Rob was apparently having a conversation. To bad I ended that one too.

Two broken phones in one day, score! New record!

"Kale, go call on your home phone," I sighed, pushing him forward and waving the others in. Amanda, Rob, and Sylvia gaped as the others filed in.

"There's more?" Mandy squeaked as she gaped at us all.

"No, they're all just a figment of your imagination," I rolled my eyes at her. The Flock and The Migration stood there awkwardly.

Kale hurried back to the living room.

"She's only five minuets away," he grinned and flopped down on the couch.

"Uh, take a seat," Sylvia tried. She looked at Fang warily, like she was processing something. Like she was remembering something.

"I'll be...right back," she whispered to me as she dropped my hand and raced up the steps.

Everyone took a seat of some sort, either on one of the many chairs or sofas, or on the floor. They started introducing themselves while Mandy ranted on and on about how Rob and her had been babysitting Sylvia since Dylan was kidnapped. Then they started asking questions and Mandy stared at the baby twins for a while, until Fang and Max got a little nervous. Then Mandy started to talk about how cute Jes was.

Sylvia skipped back down the steps and made her way to the living room. She sat against a wall, cross legged. Sylvia had one of my old yearbooks. The corners were burned and singed, but it was mostly still intact. I continued looking at her. She must've been able to salvage a few pictures. Some of Carl, Mom, Dan, me, and her. And one of baby Zachary... I instantly knew where she got those pictures. Mom had them hid in a small metal lunchbox that she called "Her Memory Box". At first it was a place where she hid everything that she ever kept of Zachary's. She had to hide everything about him from Dan, or he would beat her again. It started developing into more than just Zachary, though. Sylvia even had the little hospital bracelet thing from when he was a newborn. She continued to compare the pictures and looking up at Fang every once in a while.

"Who is s'at boy?" She whisper/asked me.

"That's Fang," I shrugged. She looked at me for more information. Dang, I forgot how smart she was!

"Yah, he's Zachary," I mumbled. She fist pumped and grinned.

"Knew it!" She cheered, "I'mma genius!"

"Yup, you are," I laughed.

"Where have you been?" She asked.

"I can't tell you, it's top secret," I said simply.

"Oh... Carl got adopted..." She frowned at that. The strange thing is, she probably remembered everything. She was that smart, don't let the lisp throw you off.

"I know, sweetie," I was starting to get choked up.

"It's ok, he's probably living with a new family. Who knows, he could even be happy," she tried.

_If she only knew..._

Sylvia stood up to go back upstairs when Kale decided to glance over at us.

"Is that our old yearbook?!" He asked. Sylvia nodded.

"Can I see it?!"

Sylvia handed it over to him. He grinned and opened it up. Kale showed the pictures of himself and baby-faced Dylan. Then Mandy and Rob. Finally it came to the page me and Carl were on. Everyone fell silent, gaping at the huge bruise around my eye in the picture and Carl's scratched up cheek.

"What happened?" Dr. M finally got out.

"Um, Dan locked Mom in the closet and I was trying to call 911 for help. Dan found me and hit me with an aluminum baseball bat square in the face. I struck back with a lamp. Carl came to help, but Dan broke a beer bottle and cut Carl all to pieces with it. We ended up pushing Dan down into the cellar, but he broke out and trapped us in the garage. We stayed home for three days with the "flu" and just happened to go back on picture day," I winced, recalling the grueling memory.

"What was your cover for the wounds?" Flair asked.

"Carl and I got in a big fight," I frowned.

"That's a terrible cover sto-" Storm began, but was cut off when Trisha, Kale's mom, barged in screaming. She ran to Kale and enveloped him in her arms, tearing up and saying how much she missed him.

After that whole "hug fest" was over she met the entire group and then asked the dreaded question.

"Where's Dylan?"

Kale answered, surprisingly calm and nonchalant. "He died, twice."

Everyone without wings or the last name Martinez had open jaws at this.

Let me summarize this for you: Trisha Arbrown broke down into tears, along with Amanda and Sylvia. Rob started screaming things like "How?!" and "Who did this?! I'll go round up the boys and we'll string 'em up. Lets put them in the ground!". Violence was always the answer for him. After explaining everything to them and showing them our wings they understood, but they were still in shock. This whole process took about two something hours and it was now dark out. Apparently Kale's dad, Arnold, was on yet another business trip, so we didn't have to worry about him snitching on us, but we made sure the others would keep their mouthes shut about everything.

"So...we need a place to crash..." I began.

"Of coarse! Lets see...girls can stay with Sylvia and boys can sleep in Kale's old room. There's a guest room, but it's small. I figured you could sleep there, Dr. Martinez. And then Dylan's room is open if you two want to stay in there," Trisha looked at Fang and Max, who only shrugged. They were both exhausted.

"Ok, let me go get some extra blankets and pillows," Trisha gave a slight smile as she headed to a closet.

"Follow me!" Sylvia chirped as she led us through the giant house to the second level. Dylan's room was first. Kale and Rob rushed in and dug through the closet. They threw out about four stacks of beach bunny magazines and crap like that. The magazines were stashed in a black trash bag. There were posters of everything from football to more chicks in bikinis.

"Who's are those?!" Mandy demanded.

"We might've had an...addiction to girls in bikinis..." Rob shrugged.

"Hmm, didn't notice," Ice snickered.

"Sleepover!" Sylvia squealed, latching onto Alex and pulling her in the direction of her own room. Everyone went to where they were suppose to be and we made ourselves comfortable. Trisha dropped some blankets and pillows off. After that it was all a distant foggy blur. I fell asleep, along with the others.

I don't know why Dylan wanted us to go here. It was just one of the first instructions on the note he left. And I still don't get why it was only addressed to me.

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**There's more to hear about the babies. And I wanted you all to know that I'm not going to be updating a lot, or frequently for that matter. And when I do finish this story, I won't be able to write a sequel. If one of my dear readers here would then just PM me and let me know. Once I finish you can adopt it and write the sequel. Thank you all for your 9 reviews! I am so pleased! It tops my old record "7"! :{D**

** H.A.G.S.! (Have a great summer!)**


	67. Moonlight's Curse

**Hey guys. I'm so sorry I haven't updated. I started school and they slammed me with homework. I'm really stressed an I've been trying to write, but I keep getting stuck with essays! Please forgive me! I know I suck, and I hope you all are still here reading this. :( gosh I feel terrible right now. **

**Ps: The riddles are from Dylan's letter to Gwen. Just thought I'd start beginning chapters with one of the riddles. And the new OC is from Bunnieswillkickyourbutt.**

**Pps: To Guest: Flair cut her chip out of her arm, read chapters 12&13 :) thanks for your review!**

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_Riddle 1: The dark rings around her eyes are not from lack of sleep. They're a mask. She is the darkness, and when day casts upon her face then the boundary is broken. Night's demons meet day's angels. The world's fate falls into the hands of one. One with a dark past. One who is half and half. One who isn't afraid to stand up._

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Moonlight's Curse

Gwen's P.O.V.

We, all the girls that is, were all sleeping when a tap at the window made us jerk awake. A face appeared in the dingy glass and Sylvia jumped up to pull the window open. The face belonged to a girl, and the girl removed the screen and climbed in.

Her skin was the color of mocha and her eyes were a hazel color, not quite as neon as mine. She glanced around at us all and tugged the hood of her hoodie down over her face a little further.

"This is my friend Moonlight," Sylvia introduced, "She's been coming to my window for a few months now..."

The girl's eyes scanned over us.

"Show me your wings," she said sternly, causing us all to fall silent and gawk at her. Well this was sudden.

"Wh-What wings?! We don't have wings! That's insane! We're just _regular_ kids...n-no wings here!..." Nudge ranted on in panic. She was practically yelling.

Moonlight lifted her vail to reveal two little triangular, fuzzy ears. A bushy tail ringed in black twitched behind her as two grey wings unfolded. I have to say, after all I've seen I'm not that surprised. Nudge shut up and we all stared.

"I saw you all come here a little while back...and I needed to meet up with you all, so..." Moonlight said quietly, trailing off. Sylvia was bewildered.

"You're a mutant! And you didn't tell me?!" Sylvia squeaked, staring at the new girl.

"I couldn't tell you, it would endanger you," Moonlight explained, wringing her raccoon tail nervously.

"And you want to be in our group or something?" Ebony questioned.

Moonlight nodded. "It's gotta be better than eating out of trash cans, right?"

"Can we call you Coon? Or Raccoon?! Or Bandit?!" Nudge asked.

"No."

"Darn."

"One question," Moonlight smiled, "is Maximum Ride here?"

"_Yes_," Sparks answered with a warm smile. **{A/N: Remember Dylan's note? Remember what he said to Sparks?}**

That's when I heard the front door downstairs fly open and Moonlight whisper, "Forgive me..."

Max's P.O.V.

It was awkward to lay here in Dylan's old bed. Ok, it was worse than awkward, it was creepy, especially with Fang laying right beside me and the girls nestled between us. _Wrong_, maybe that's the word.

"After this?" Fang asked. It took my extremely fogged up mind to understand that this was a question, just shortened to Fang's 'Three Words or Less!' thing.

"We have to find a safe place for the girls..." I began. The girls. I didn't say anything about my Flock. Who held more importance, my Flock or the girls?

Fang looked at me for a minuet. He understood and slowly moved his arm from around Ava. His hand slipped into my mine.

"You're a mom to the Flock, too" He whispered. I nodded, and for some reason I started to tear up.

"I just...who am I supposed to think of first? If there was a life or death situation who would I care about the most?" I frowned, biting my lip.

"The Flock has grown up. They can take care of themselves...mostly," Fang pressed on.

"But they're not! Angel and Gazzy are still kids, and Nudge needs me still," I shook my head.

"Max, you're a great mom. I know you're nervous and worried, but you aren't alone in this. I'm here, and we have a bigger family now. We are safe. If you don't want to admit it then that's on you, but just think for a minuet, ok? We have your mom here to help, and then there's the whole Migration. We can raise these kids," Fang said sternly. It almost made my jaw drop. That was a lot of words out of him; the most I had heard in a while.

"I thought we were settled down. Remember? When we were back in the mansion and everything was going smoothly. When we thought it was safe to start a family..." I sighed, feeling terrible for throwing my kids into this mess that I, and every other winged being, call life.

"Sometimes life doesn't go the way we plan. You should know that. We've fought through this, though. We're fine now. Everyone is safe," Fang assured, "Now get some rest. I know you're exhausted."

I nodded, feeling a tad bit better as I laid my head down on the pillow and pulled the comforter up around my shoulders and pulling Eva closer to my chest.

My eyes wandered to a photograph taped to the wall. Dylan was standing there with an arm wrapped around Mandy, a football tucked under the other. Rob stood to the left, the signature two black steaks under his eyes. The picture must've been taken after a game because the two boys were covered in dirt and grime. A pang of guilt surfaced and I snapped my eyes shut, letting out a breath while doing so.

I should've told Dylan that way-back-when I did have feelings for him, for a little while in the past. When Fang left...and Dylan was the only one there...I did warm up to him a little. I kinda lead him on. Hot tears brimmed in my eyes, but I kept them squint shut so none would fall. I recalled the day when Fang proposed. Dylan's face, his gut churning expression, was forever embedded in my brain, but he put on a brave face and sulked in his room for a while. The wedding was worse. Dylan had a fake smile the whole time. He didn't cry or scream...just _smiled_. He did come to me before I walked down the aisle. Dylan told me he wanted me to be happy, and that if he was keeping me from it then he'd just go. I ignored him, though, never acknowledging his comment as I brushed past him to go hide behind the door of my dressing room. Why didn't I thank him for that? Why didn't I talk to him? Why didn't I think about his feelings? But Dylan stayed. He fought for me, not for my love anymore. Why couldn't I suck it up and just be the poor guy's friend? I was selfish, that was it. He would've thrown his life down on the line for me, actually he _did_. He did die for me. Dylan couldn't have just stayed away, no he had to come back. If he hadn't...I wouldn't be holding my girls, and he'd still be breathing.

Sleep started to take me, but then a couple of loud bangs echoed through the house. The noise was followed by many footsteps trudging up the wooden stairs. Fang was up, throwing the door open and looking out and around. I followed, scooping up the girls. Voices screamed out, one was Storm. He was shouting orders. That's when Fang rushed back in, slamming and locking the door behind himself.

"Get out the window," He said sternly. I opened my mouth to question and protest, but he hurried past me, opening the old, dusty window and breaking out the screen. "Now!"

"What's happening?" I questioned, looking at the door, wandering about my Flock.

"We're under attack. You have to get out," Fang barked at me. I didn't like his tone. It was somewhat panicked, but he was bossing me around.

"The Flock..." I whispered.

"You and the girls come first," he reminded, latching onto my arm and shoving me towards the window. I heard gunshots and Angel scream. Angel, my baby girl. She was crying. She was scared.

"No!" I struggled out of Fang's grip and quickly set the babies down on the foot of the bed. I unlocked the door and threw myself out the doorway, into the hall. It was a massacre. I searched for the faces of my family, not paying any attention the faces of the Migration. They were laying everywhere, pools of blood surrounding them. I looked for my group.

"GUYS!" I called over the repeatedly fired weapons.

"Max!" Nudge screamed in pure agony. There was helplessness in her voice. I started to run towards her cries, but a pair of powerful arms wrapped around my waist. Fang tried to pull me back to the bedroom. I fought him the whole time. Then a bullet zipped past me, lodging itself in Fang's chest. I shrieked as his arms lost their strength and he fell backwards. That's when it hit me. That's when the situation sunk in. I turned to go back to the room. I needed to get the girls out of here, but something pricked my neck and my legs gave out under me. My vision became hazy, but I saw a Dark Angel tower over me.

"Part two complete," She said into a walkie talkie. The face wasn't there for long before another body joined in, tacking the Dark Angel. _Gwen_. Gwen was fighting the girl. Red splashed everywhere and my eyes rolled back in my head. The last thing I remember hearing was a voice rise over all other sounds.

"Perimeter secure. Babies are contained."

No!

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**Love it? Loathe it? **

**And, since no one wants to do the sequel, I guess I'll have to write it. There's a couple of questions I have though.**

**1) Should there be a time skip, and how long?**

**2) Shoud. I write one? **

**3) What would you like to see happen?**

**4) Would you like to see the return of any characters? (Like Hillbilly, etc.?)**

**{}-~•~-{}**

**Oh, and by the way this is not the last chapter! Ill post again soon, hopefully. But this story is nearing its end. There's less than 10 chapters left. I know that much for sure.**

**Thanks for your cooperation! :)**

**_Review_, please?!**


	68. No Longer A Bird In The Bush

Riddle 1: The dark rings around her eyes are not from lack of sleep. They're a mask. She is the darkness, and when day casts upon her face then the boundary is broken** (Hint: Moonlight's, the raccoon/avian, betrayal)**. Night's demons **(The Dark Angels)** meet day's angels **(The Migration and The Flock)**. The world's fate falls into the hands of one. One with a dark past. One who is half and half. One who isn't afraid to stand up** (This will be further explained in the next chap.)**.

**No Longer A Bird In The Bush**

_*23 hours later*_

Max's P.O.V.

I woke up to the chilling sound of rusty metal grinding. A cage door had been slammed and locked, the being behind the bars was very familiar. A wave of confusion washed over me.

_Where was I? How did I get here? Who was laying in a fetal position beside me?_ And most importantly, _Why do I feel like I've been pitched into a blender set on 'chop'?_

Then it hit me like a five ton hammer, plowing through my brain like a locomotive.

"Angel?! Angel sweetie!" I tried to shout, but my voice came out as a croak while I rolled to my knees to face the body laying in a heap to my right.

"I can't!" She wailed, burrowing her golden topped head into her thin, frail arms.

"You can't what? Where's the others?" I asked quickly. Words rolled off my tongue at such a pace that Angel had to turn her big blue eyes up to face me. She was, miraculously, unharmed for the most part.

"I can't use my telepathy..." Angel sniffled, "And everyone's..."

She was cut short by the sudden flashing of fluorescent lights. I covered my face in attempt to shield my eyes from the harshness of the rays. I felt a sudden aching and coiled tight into a ball.

"You're tricky. I'll give you that, Maximum, but even the slyest old fox steps on a twig." Jeb, I'd know the voice anywhere. Cautiously, I opened my eyes, only to slits, and peered out at him. His hair had grayed, and his expressions were furrowed with slight wrinkles. He was growing old; we all were, yet the scene felt oddly familiar. Déjà vu, as some might say. Even though I was no longer a littler girl scared of love and death I still felt the eery, memorable, gut churning feeling of fear. That's the only word I have for it. _Fear_. But I had to stay strong. Even if I had no courage I still had to act like I was in control.

"Move, old man," Flair sneered; her fists curling.

"That's no way to talk to your father, young lady," a feminine voice called. Then I saw her, Bridget Dwyer, push past two guard Erasers. She had aged some, too. Her eyes scanned over Flair and Alex, who were side by side in identical medium metal crates. Alex cowered under the glare and sunk back in her cage. Flair raised an eyebrow.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Flair snapped as she met Bridget's glare with an even more threatening cold stare. Bridget pulled out a folded piece of paper and tossed it to Flair.

Pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear, Flair carefully unfolded the paper and I barely caught a glance of the title '_Certificate of Birth_'. Her face contorted into a disgusted expression. I knew she had figured it out. The secret. I never told her because I didn't want her to know. I didn't want anyone to know. That's why I sheltered her, why I cried so hard when she left. What kind of big sis would I be if I just lost her? She looked at me in confusion. I bit my lip and sunk back further into the shadows.

Bridget let out a cold laugh as she snatched the paper back from Flair. Alex, who had apparently also seen the document, opened her mouth to question, but was quickly cut off with shouting from outside the room. I glanced to the rusty metal door that was locked shut. The noise continued, almost like a riot had formed outside the door. Chu's menacing voice rose over the chatter. He sounded furious and he pounded on the door with a tightly balled fist. Jeb already had the door open, glaring down at his shorter peer.

"She must be eliminated!" Chu spat, tiny beads of saliva shooting from his mouth.

"We will never find the Epic if you destroy her! She is the key to this all..." Jeb shot back.

"She is a piece of s*** that your worthless dogs failed to contain!" Jeb bit his lip at the man's words. "You failed to complete your mission, Batchelder."

"At least the Dark Angels can obey orders and carry out a task. The Herd comes running home with their tails between their legs. Face it, if it were The Herd versus the Dark Angels it would be like a six-inch blade up against an AK-47."

"Say what you wish. I, however, prefer to put smarts over brawn, and your beloved freaks have cornmeal instead of brains."

"Who has the most successful captures?" Jeb growled as he walked out.

Chu opened his mouth to protest, but his words were cut off by Bridget slamming and locking the door behind them. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. My thoughts quickly switched over to my girls.

"Where's Ava and Eva?!" I panicked as I looked around. Storm joined in, calling for an emergency role call and injury report.

"Max!" Fang called from somewhere not to far away.

"Fang! The girls! Where's the girls?!" I shrieked as tears welled in my eyes.

"I-I don't know," that's the most worry I've ever heard in his voice.

Another uproar started from the Migration.

"GWEN?!" Kale called, hopelessness ringing in his tone.

"SPARKS?!" 24 screamed.

"Oh god..." Ebony whispered.

There was about an hour of panic, mourning, and realizations.

Gwen and Sparks are, for now, presumed dead. They're not in any of the cages, we checked. The Humans may be dead along with them. No one knows. Mysteriously, our powers stopped working, and we don't know why. And my babies are no where in reach. I'm in tears now. My girls, my Mom, my sister, my sister-in-laws, and a few others could all be dead.

I think I have an excuse to cry, no?

Storm, oh don't even get me started. This is not something you want right after you've been sworn in as 'leader'. The kid is freaking out a little, but he's held it together so far. His first action was to think of a way out, immediately. Order number two, everyone stay calm. "We don't know if they met that fate, guys. They could just be AWOL. Keep your hopes up." He had announced. The Migration was now trying to pick locks.

Surprisingly, the Whitecoats had separated the cages of me and my Flock from the Migration. I looked out at my group, taking in the worry etched on each's face. Angel had streaks down her face from tears. She looked a little flustered, but nothing major. Nudge, however, had a huge gash on her forehead. It had already started to scab over. Her eyes were wide and questioning. Like she was in shock. Gazzy had scratches and a few claw marks here and there, but my little trooper could live with blood stained clothes. The Gasman was worrying me, along with Nudge, at his lack of communication. Iggy tried to give a shaky smile, but failed miserably. I knew he was nervous about being here again. He wanted Ella to be ok, and he wanted out. He shot of a few sarcastic comments earlier, but now his attempt to keep his chin up has dulled. Fang sat back, leaning on the skinny, grey bars of his cage.

"The girls are fine. Didn't you hear them? They said they needed to find the Epic," he whispered, assuring himself more than me. The Epic. Yah. I assumed the Epic was the first born. The problem? I can't remember who was born first, and neither can Fang. So how the Whitecoats are gonna figure that out beats me.

"My neck is sore," Melee grumbled.

"Mine too," practically everyone added. My fingers grazed over the side of my neck. It felt like a mosquito bite, but I knew it wasn't. It's where we had been pricked by a needle. There must've been something to knock us out in the syringe. That's why everyone appeared dead. And then I remembered Gwen fighting off Night. Did she get killed? Did Gwen die because...because I couldn't protect my own family?

There were to many questions, but the time I had to sort through them all was interrupted by the door flying open and a Whitecoat pushing in a TV on a stand. What the frick was this?!

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**I know it's short, but the next chapter will answer all the questions. Please review, that is if there's someone still reading this...**


	69. Torture

**Hey guys! This gets sorta graphic. There's no riddle for this chapter, though. **

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**Torture**

Max's P.O.V.

The Whitecoat set up the TV like thing. Jeb, Bridget, and Chu paraded in the room, again.

"Well, since you all are obviously planning on not telling us where the Epic is then I guess we're going to have to give you a preview of what happens when you deny us information," Jeb sneered, adding in, "I really hate to do this to one of my son-in-law's sisters."

Oh god no.

An image of Gwen popped up, sending gasps throughout the room. My teeth gritted and I winced at the picture.

The scene would haunt me for the rest of my days. Kale growled deep in his throat, along with Ryan and Ice, but the girls mostly gasped as they ordered the little ones to shield their eyes.

There, on the screen, hung Gwen. Our Gwen. She was strung up by her arms. I tried to look up at her face, but it hurt to bad. Dark rings circled her eyes and her cheeks were slit. Gwen's nose had bled. The whole left side of her face was covered in a shade of maroon. Her neck had red prints of hands from where they had apparently tried to choke her. Gwen's collar bone appeared to be literally cut straight across; it was stained in crimson. Her shirt was torn, her right sleeve cut entirely off. It left the fabric only loosely draped, so that you could barely make out some sort of writing going across the top of her bra line to that side. Her arms were shredded at some areas, like they had raked a cheese grader across them. Blood dripped in little rivulets; carving its way down the freshly bruised skin. Her legs had little patches of burn marks on them. It ended with her feet pointing down as if she were a limp rag doll. She was chained up like she was a prisoner. They had tortured her.

Tears pricked in my eyes again.

"You monsters!" thundered Kale's voice.

"She refused to break," Bridget scowled, her nose crinkling, "and she kept up her will power. I think we might have started to tear down the walls, though."

The picture switched to a grainy video clip. It started off with shouting voices and screaming. That's all that I could pay attention to. Blood curdling cries echoed into my ears. As the footage focused I could see Gwen strapped down to a chair, her hands cuffed apart on the table, and Chu hailing over her.

_"I'm going to ask you one more time," he hissed, "Where are they?"_

_"Safe," Came Gwen's terse reply. Her eyes stayed locked on his as they battled with glares. _

_"I will shock you if you don't bear a hand," Chu warned. _

_"Try me," Gwen said quietly. _

_That's when they put what looked like a metal collar around Gwen's thigh. Ox came behind Chu, griping tight to a small remote. Chu mumbled something that sounded like "first level". _

_Gwen jumped, biting her lip and writhing in her chair. Her fingers curled into her palms and she pulled back on her cuffs. This lasted for a good minuet or two before Chu ordered the cattle mutant to stop. _

_Gwen's shoulders relaxed and she sucked in a deep breath._

_"It gets worse, so tell me," Chu sneered, sitting down in a chair and leaning back like he had already won. _

_"You aren't special. You're just older than dirt, but still above it. Not for long..." Gwen threatened. _

_"Level five!" Jeb barked. The Dark Angel hurried to turn a dial and hit the button again, sending Gwen to whimpers. She eventually got it under control, but her body was still jolting from the shock. Chu made it stop. _

_"How about now?"_

_"Go to h***!"_

_"Level seven!"_

_This time Gwen bit into her lip harder, bringing blood. Other than that, she didn't move. _

_Chu looked over her and flicked his wrist. Ox cut it off, happiness filling his expression. Ox loved this, along with Chu. We, however, we're almost to tears. _

_This time Chu only looked at her. She shot him the bird._

_"LEVEL TEN!" Chu cried, exasperated. _

_"No! That will kill her!" came Jeb's pleading voice. He ran to Chu, shaking his shoulders. _

_"Ox!" Chu snapped. Ox hit the button, grinning maliciously. _

_"Her body can't handle that much electricity!" Jeb explained. _

_It was to late. Gwen made no movement. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped in the chair. _

_"Cut it off!" Chu shouted, but Ox made no attempt to listen. _

_"OFF!" Jeb tried again. This time Ox listened with an expression of boredom on his features. _

_"We need to take her under, stat," Chu's voice was cut off as Jeb shook his head. _

_"She's gone..." Jeb shook his head. _

_"Her brain may not be permanently fried. If we can get her heart started..."_

_"No. The only thing we could do is replace it..." _

Then Bridget lunged to grab the remote, like we weren't supposed to hear that much. She hastily pressed buttons. The video swapped over to Gwen laying flat on her back in a cot. Her eyes were open and she was taking steady breaths.

"_Experiment 73, report. Where is the children of Fang and Maximum Ride?" Chu asked, his voice gruff as he stood and looked down at her. She gave a shaky laugh and idly looked over at him. _

_"Wouldn't you like to know..." She said, her voice light and her words slurred. _

_"I will kill your brother if you don't speak," Chu tested. _

_"Carl?" Gwen's voice rose a pitch. She was obviously drugged. _

_Chu nodded. _

_"He's already gone. That's not Carl..." She shook her head _

_"I will not hesitate to kill a member of your beloved Migration," Chu was getting frustrated. _

_"You're just a scrawny human, thing. I'll rip your throat out...and..."_

_"Put her under again," Chu sighed. _

Bridget looked over at our disgusted expressions. The rest of the footage was of Gwen awake and being tortured. It's surprising how much they can do to a person in 23 hours. There was one film of Gwen chirping. Yes, she was just sitting there chirping. Kale acted like he got something out of it, but before he could tell us an alarm went off and a voice came over the intercom.

"CODE 9-13! EXPERIMENT 73 HAS ESCAPED!"

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**Sorry it's so short, but I feel as if not many of you are reading anymore. My updates are going to start coming even slower! Ugh! I know! But school is where happiness came to die and all the homework they're giving me is impossible. And my social life comes first over FF, sorry guys. I have decided to not make a sequel. If I do make one it will not come out until next summer, unless you all have something to say about it. :) have a great Saturday and please review! I'm really sorry! **


	70. Mutiny and Anguish

Riddle 2: One voice to rule them all, bon cone minion will not stand to see the next sun-up, but the demon will stand for whys right. Although some scream "Mutiny!", others gain hope, but who will chant "Victory!" ?

Riddle 3: Powerless you are in the face of danger. One who lives without the prize may still deliver you to safety. Another has had the power all along. It's up to them to save the future.

**Mutiny and Anguish**

Max's P.O.V.

I thought that I had misheard. I thought that I was just fabricating the illusion of getting out, but then the enemy lost all the color in their faces; their baneful smirks dropped. Bridget, Jeb, and Chu rushed from the room. The door, our only exit, slammed behind them. I watched and caught the immediate feeling of hope from their panic. My gaze didn't leave the door. My heart didn't stop pounding. I gripped the cold, steel bars as a hush fell over everyone. Palms sweaty and throats dry we all hoped and prayed that a certain green-eyed savior would bust through the entrance any second.

Finally it came. Screams echoed outside the door, making my breath hitch. Then it went quiet and all that could be heard was the sound of a lonesome set of feet padding against the floor. The doorknob shook, and so did I in the anticipation. A loud click signaled that the lock had been broken and the door slowly drifted open, and hailing on the other side of the threshold was none other than Gwen Orksmith. She was beaten, battered, and coated in a thick coat of fresh blood, but she was standing.

"Gwen!" Kale cheered in a childlike joy. She didn't grin, or smile, or even react. Matter of fact, she just bared her teeth and held a up a red stained key card. More voices came from somewhere beyond the door, causing Gwen to toss the key to me and turn to throw up her fists. I caught the piece of plastic clumsily, grasping to it like my life depended on it; technically it did.

"Hurry! Dispose of her!" Chu shouted. Gwen snarled, curling her fists. Ox and The Herd stampeded forward. Ox arrived fist, swinging a nasty punch strait at Gwen. She took it to the eye, but shot back with several left hooks. Ox tried another righty. Gwen ducked and dodged, ramming him in the gut and bobbing back up in time to catch him while he was bending over from the blow. She jumped up and swung her leg to hit his shoulder. He stumbled as she landed and straightened herself. Pulling himself back together, Ox looked her in the eyes. Her stance didn't waver as she punched up at his jaw and swiped her foot out to knock him off balance, but he, being the giant beast he is, just stumbled. He got his busted knuckles another go around and shoved Gwen to the wall. His hand wrapped around her windpipe and his eyes narrowed.

"Your finished," he ground out. Gwen's lip lifted up in an intimidating grin. Next thing I knew her knee jerked up and hit him square in the private square. His mouth formed an _O_ as his grip loosened. Gwen pushed him off and he fell.

"Consider yourself _castrated_, Ox," She spat, looking down at the beefy boy with a satisfied smirk.

Palomino, the horse hybrid, came running at full speed to the scene. She constructed a perfect roundhouse kick. Gwen barely dodged, dropping down to her knees. Palomino kicked at her head, but Gwen went into a backwards roll and again kept out of the way of another killer kick. Next was unspeakable. Gwen latched onto Palomino's flying ankle and twisted. A loud pop echoed. It sent the horse-girl to her knees, but she didn't stop there. Her fists came in droves, each hitting Gwen in various locations. Orksmith bared her teeth and lashed out, sending a knockout strike to Palomino's temple. With two down, the three still to come didn't put up much of a fight, actually they didn't fight at all. From what I could see, they just stopped and stared. Then came more footsteps, trudging down the hall in sync. Fang, by this point, had glanced over at me and told me to unlock the cages.

I had completely forgotten, considering how I was watching the fight intently. The card had the face of a Whitecoat. In the picture the man wasn't smiling. His lips were pursed and thin. That's when I read read name _Joey Dranls_ labeled across the top. My eyes flicked back up to see a corpse laying in the hall. The body matched the ID. I made no attempt to ponder where I had seen the face before, no, I simply held the piece of life saving plastic up to the new high tech scanners on the front of my cage. A click echoed and I slowly pressed the palm of my hand against the cool, smooth metal. The barred door opened with a groan. Bolting out, I rushed to Fang's crate and unlocked it. The key card was passed about and winged children hurried to freedom, but we were trapped.

Coming from down the hall was a covey of red-eyed "angels". This time the scene felt off. The female who usually leads the group was missing, leaving only the three umpteen boys, or should I say men, and the two smaller males. One of the younger boys looked like a demented Gazzy, and the other was none other than Eris, Gwen's possessed brother Carl.

Storm barked orders, but nothing could make us move. It was Gwen against the little devils, and she was in deep. Blood literally splattered out onto the blank, grey walls. The white tile was doused in crimson. Then she was pushed. Gwen came crashing down, hard. She tripped over dead bodies and came in a sliding mass back into the room. Our room. Kale flew to her side, lifting her up. I spotted something then; something...wrong. Across the crest of her wing was a strip of curved metal to fit her wing. It had screws in it. She held her wings behind her like they were heavy, and I bet they were. The scientists, if you could even call them that, ruined her beautiful wings. Now they were armored and burdened. Gwen was now on her feet, and so was the rest of the Migration. With balled fists they stood against all odds. More Eraser's filed down the narrow hallway, and I watched hopelessly as our rode to freedom was blocked with oncoming obstacles.

"We're trapped!" shrieked Alex.

"I'm not going down without a fight!" announced Ice.

"I won't stand down, either," Jace added.

"I'll throw them some fire from h*** if I have to!" Flair growled.

"We have to get out," Melee said.

"I'm scared," Jester squeaked.

"It'd be easier to blow out the wall," Iggy suggested, but Gazzy debunked it with something I thought I'd never hear come out of his mouth. "I got nothin'."

"Our powers...!" Angel protested.

"We don't stand a chance," Ebony declared.

"Calm down everyone! We're going to be ok..." I tried.

"It's not worth the risk," Fang retorted, causing me to go tense. Fang is always up for a fight; he ever backs down. I bit my lip. _Should we surrender?_

"We have to win," Kale thundered. "We're going to fight through this! Dylan has already said we have a future, right?"

There it was. According to Dylan were going to get out of this. With these simple words we all gave glances around the room, face to face, and sent curt nods. While this argument had been developing Gwen had stepped back up to the borderline, also known as the doorway, and was in a heated conversation with Eris.

"This isn't you!"

"It is...now."

"I know there must be some part of you left buried under this act."

"Not much."

"Please, Carl, I need you now. I need you."

The boy seemed to chew it over. His eyes darkened as he glanced back at me.

"I am programmed to capture the Maximum, the Epic, the Ultimate, the Supremes, and the Chief…" he recited, causing Gwen to frown and sigh in frustration and grief, "but I am a human being. I am forced to obey the laws of physics, and I am bound to mortality. Death is the only thing that can keep me in restraints, yet I obey a ruthless voice as if it were my mother barking my name. No longer shall I heed to the words, or carry out Master's orders. The unjust draws me out of my slavery, and for once I will think as if I have a brain beneath my skull."

Our eyes bulged as we stared at the wise ten year old.

"That's mutiny!" Stated one of the Dark Angels; the one that looked like Gazzy.

"Precisely," nodded Eris as he turned to face the group. Then the Erasers parted and up came Jeb, signaling for a frail and fragile Night to follow. She came with no expression, and it made me wonder what had happened to her.

"Experiment 34-290DA, stand down," Jeb ordered. Eris didn't budge.

"Eris, this is foolish," Night warned.

"And so is this life we live!" Eris defended.

"Please, step aside," Night coaxed.

"This is my sister. Her blood runs through my veins, and I care not of the pity task of killing if it breaks the bond of family!" Gosh, they talk like their a thousand years old!

"Shoot him down," Jeb said with an exasperated sigh. Night shadowed her eyes from the sight. A gun raised and Gwen had no time to push Eris out of the way. A single lead bullet flew through the air and stopped only when it hit him square in the neck. This started the war, and for once I saw. I saw the blood bath as it truly was. A girl, one with little power or strength, fighting tooth and nail for something she loved. Children slugging it out to put me back with my babies. A dead boy laying sprawled in his own blood because I had rebelled so many years ago. Why do I sit so high on my throne? Am I above the mutiny, the pain, the death, and the disease? No, I'm in the middle of it; in the middle of a war known as life, where we can't settle for what we have. No, we have to touch the sky when we were made to inhabit the ground. People want more than what they can have, when in reality what we have should be all we want. There's no peace for us, and fighting for it doesn't help out much, either. As the battle raged on, as the cried of agony grew, so did my hate for the world. That's when something snapped. That's when I earned my name: _Maximum_.

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**Ooh, next up: SOME MAX ACTION! But please review! Please?**


	71. Bust Out

**Bust Out **

Gwen's P.O.V.

I was hurting, bad. I needed medical attention and I knew, without a doubt, that if I didn't I'd be dead in a couple of hours. I'm bleeding out, and there's nothing anyone can do. It's like my body knew my situation; I wasn't shutting down. I wasn't giving in to the pain, or the blood, or even the sure need to rest, no. I was going to fight this out until I died, and from the looks of my biological clock I didn't have long.

The torture they had put me through was hard and probably fatal, but I had battled exhaustion and hurt too long to give up now, not with my family standing helpless behind me. They needed their powers, but they wouldn't get them for another few hours at least. We were drugged to the point where it slowed everything from our metabolism to our nerve system. This made us just like any regular human. Their powers were shut off due to the fact that we just work so much faster than regular people. The messages weren't getting through, meaning Flair couldn't shoot fire, Angel couldn't read minds, Kale couldn't pick anything up and chuck it a couple of acres, and so on. I had happened to find a map of the layout of the School and I know how to get out. I "tweeted" it to Kale earlier. Of coarse they'd show that video, they probably thought I was going insane. I was far from crazy.

The punches kept coming, and I kept dishing them out. Then a mighty cry erupted from behind me and a streak shot past. The streak was Max, and she was furious. Her fist collided with an Eraser's snout. She sent it howling. I couldn't believe it, she was kicking butt! Now I know why they call her Maximum. With us all battling off the oncoming ward, we happened to push the enemy back to the split in the hallway. I looked at Kale and he gave a curt nod. He whispered the plan to Max who stopped fighting to think. She told Fang and Storm, and they seemed to agree.

"Break left!" Storm ordered.

"Go left, Flock!" Max shouted. Then a mass of bird-children turned to sprint for all they were worth to the left. I pulled the fire alarm, which added to the confusion. I couldn't keep up with the rest of the group, I lacked behind. I was sure I was going to be caught, that I was going to be strangled to death and left to go down under with Eris, but a pair of beefy arms scooped me up from behind and I saw a blur of black before I was being carted down the hallway. Gunshots rang behind me and then I noticed that I was being carried by a Dark Angel. With no time to scream, I instantly started to wriggle. The grip only tightened and a pair of maroon eyes looked down to study me.

"Be still," the deep voice commanded. There was no use in fighting it, so I lay limp. Then the motion slowed and our direction changed sharply. I was set down on the ground and a familiar pair of arms wrapped around me.

"What do you want?" Kale snarled at the Dark Angel as he drew me to his chest. I glanced up to see that there was three of them. Night, the one thy carried me, and then the one that looked like Gazzy.

"They killed our friend," Night said, her voice strangely showing a sign of pain.

"And?" Ryan snapped.

There was a long drawn out silence, the only thing you could hear was the fire alarm blaring and the gunshots.

"We...want to help you all..." The boy whispered.

"Gloom, they obviously don't want us," the Gazzy-lookalike stated.

"Yeah! Get out of here!-" Fang began, but Ebony cut him off.

"It's better if we add to our allies, instead of our enemies."

I guess that made some sense. Kale lifted me to my feet, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand.

"Do you know the code to open the emergency door?" I asked, pointing at the fire escape in the corner if the room. The man, Gloom, nodded.

"It's 5689," a voice echoed, beating him to it. We all glanced around for the being who said it. Then I saw her, cowering in the corner with her black-ringed tail wrapped around her and her ears twitching. Moonlight.

"_You!_" Max thundered, pointing a the girl. Moonlight squeaked and her hazel eyes grew wide. "You did this!"

"She was forced," Night explained, right before Max lunged.

"Forced how?" Nudge questioned.

"They took the child's food and water, then threatened to turn her into one of us," Gloom sighed.

"Can we stop talking and get out of here?" Melee grumbled as she typed in the code and pushing the door open.

"What about Sparks?!" 24 shrieked.

"She's gone," I whispered hoarsely. 24 didn't seem to understand why I meant by gone. "Sparks died..."

"How?!" 24 now had tears steaming down her round cheeks.

"I misfired," Night saved me from having to tell the story. 24 glared at the girl.

"Where are the rest of the Dark Angels?" I asked, trying to change the subject, as I looked at Night. The others brushed past as they made their way to the door.

"They remain loyal to this place," Gazzy 2 answered.

"What's going to happen to you?" Kale questioned.

"We die or follow you," Gloom acted like it was normal.

"We're going to have to hurry," Kale said as he tugged me towards the door, "And you red eyes are going to have to keep up!"

I forced myself to follow and ran numbly after Kale on trembling legs. When we reached the usually dry, barren sand that surrounded the School I noticed something. The sky was dark and the wind was picking up. A raindrop hit me.

"Great! Just great! This is really what we need! Thanks a lot! Thanks world!" Flair yelled as she continue to run through the storm.

The slight edge we had against the Erasers was lost as I looked over my shoulder to spot them coming out of the building and into the elements with us.

"They're on our tail!" I called out to the rest of the group. Kale kept looking back at me, trying to see if I was alright; I wasn't.

We ran for almost an hour on nothing but pure adrenaline. Then I collapsed, coughing as my blood was absorbed by the sand below me. Everyone stopped to gather around.

"My healing isn't working yet!" Alex panicked.

"What are we going to do, Max?" Iggy asked.

"I can't teleport her to the hospital," Selene mumbled.

"Is she going to be ok?" Jester sniffled.

I couldn't speak, or respond in anyway. Kale rubbed my back as I shook and trembled.

"She's going to die from blood loss," Gloom said, "We must fly her to the hospital."

My hacks stopped and I choked some words out. "No!" My voice came out harsh and hoarse, "Max, you have to go to Hillbilly's old cabin in the woods. I told Dr. M, Trisha, Ella, and Sylvia to take Ava and Eva there. You have to go back to Kentucky. You have to-" I started to cough again.

"Ok this is how it's going to work," Max started to plan.

"The Flock goes with Max along with Melee, Jes, Ryan, Selene, 24, Jace, and Alex. Ice, Flair, Ebony, Kale, and I will take Gwen to the hospital," Storm finished for her. Max gave him a half-hearted glare.

"Alright, split," she mumbled. Jes kissed my forehead.

"Get gooder," he said as his little neon green wings spread behind him. It was so sweet. Melee placed her hand on my shoulder then turned to push Jes into the air. I watched them leave, cringing in pain myself. The Dark Angels didn't leave me either. They just gave directions to the closest hospital and then we were off. Kale carried me, even without his super strength. The three followed and Flair, Ice, Ebony, and Storm led the way.

I was toted into the emergency room of a small, rural hospital. A nurse in a crisp, bleached uniform came over and screamed something when she saw me. I left the security of Kale and was sprawled out onto a stretcher.

"Her shirt is already ripped, we'll need it off. Scissors!" A voice said tersely.

"Um..." Ebony protested. Then there was a snipping noise and another shout.

"This girl has wings!" Another cried.

"We're going to loose her if we don't slow down this heart rate!"

"She's as good as gone!"

"Call the police!"

"Call the Capitol!"

"Who are you kids?!"

Voices swirled around me, and I could hear my family trying to explain.

"Please just help her!" Kale pleaded.

Then I was out like a light, and I wasn't sure if I was ever going to wake up.

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Honestly guys I was a little hurt. I only got two reviews last chapter :( is it that bad? I have two more chapters and then the epilogue left and then this story will be over, but I need three reviews before I update again. Thanks for reading!


	72. To Hillbilly's House We Go

**To Hillbilly's House We Go**

Max's P.O.V.

The Flock and about half of the Migration and I flew back to Kentucky, stopping at the old house we hunkered down in so long ago. Nudge explained that Hillbilly's cabin was somewhere next to a creek a ways up the mountain. She really liked that kid.

We trudged up the mountain, exhausted. Our powers were coming back. Angel decided that she was going to continually use her mind reading because she had lost it for so long.

'_Hey Max, Ryan's thinking dirty thoughts about Selene_...' Angel thought to me.

'_LALALALA!' _I thought back, shaking my head. I fixed my ponytail and Fang nudged me. I glanced over at him. Dark circles ringed his eyes and his hair was all jumbled, but somehow still pulling of sexy. Scratch that, I did not just think that with Angel in my mind.

'_Yes you did..._'

_'Angel, sweetie, get out of my head!'_

She giggled behind me and described the conversation to a depressed 24, who had no expression. I felt bad for the girl. Her sister/friend died for me and my children. It was my fault, I knew deep down it was. Why didn't I listen to Fang?! Why didn't I get the girls out?! Ugh! The stress of being a young mother.

"Misses Maximum?" Jes whispered.

"Jester, it's _just_ Max," I tried not to snarl. How many times did I have to tell this kid?!

"I know, but Dyl always said to call you Misses Maximum 'cause it peed you off," Jes said sweetly. Oh Dylan, always agitating me; even after death.

Jes held tight to my hand. "I miss Kale..." He sniffled. Ugh!

"I'm sure you'll see him soon, kiddo," I gave him a reassuring smile. Why hadn't I remembered Angel being like this?

'_Because I was far more mature_...'

'_Angel!'_ I snapped in my mind.

_'Ok, ok sorry!_'

"There's a creek," Iggy stated. I glanced over and he was standing in it.

"Good job, Igs. I would've never noticed," Gazzy said with a hint of sarcasm.

"So we must be getting close..." Nudge started to ramble again.

"Do you think they actually made it?" Jace asked Ryan in a hushed voice. Ryan only shrugged.

"They were only human, so it's possible that they..." Selene started.

"DONT SAY THAT!" Alex wailed.

That's when I started to doubt.

"Tire tracks," Melee grumbled. I almost didn't pay any attention to her, but I followed her pointed finger to an area about fifty yards away and saw that there was a wide path.

"Look!" I practically screamed as I took off in the direction of the path. The others followed. I was dragging Jes along behind me. I bursted out from behind the undergrowth blocking the road and saw that there was a fresh track of tire prints.

"We're close!" I breathed and held tighter to Jester, "Lets go!"

I could feel that we were almost there. My boots beat against the moist, black dirt as I raced a little farther up the mountain side. And then, to my luck, I spotted the outline of a logged cabin with a minivan parked outside. Jes squirmed out of my grip and Fang and I took off, full sprint, up to the tiny home. My fist beat on the crappy door. It swung open and the first thing I saw was the barrel of a gun.

"Maximum Ride?!" A voice called from behind the weapon. Low and behold there stood a booted boy wearing a cowboy hat and blue jeans. I only nodded. Hillbilly's familiar grin filled his features as he tossed the gun aside.

"ELLA! SYLVIA! DR. MARTINEZ! MRS. ARBROWN! You won't believe who just walked through the-!" His yelling was cut off by me literally shoving past him and running into the room. Call me rude;_ I dare you_.

"Where?!" Sylvia came out of a small bedroom shrieking. In her arms she held a little bundle, my little bundle. I scooped up Ava from her arms and tears pricked in my eyes. I instantly started cooing to my tiny baby. She gurgled back in response. I felt Fang come up behind me and Ella handed him Eva, who grabbed at his nose. They were very alert, probably because they're genetically mutated, but I like to think it's because they were happy to see us. If I wasn't the strong leader I was I probably would've broke down into tears of happiness, but I stayed strong. The others filed into the room. Nudge lunged at Hillbilly and hugged him. He rocked back on his boots, not expecting the affection. He awkwardly patted Nudge's back.

"I missed you!" She squealed.

"I sure did miss y'all's squallin', I gotta admit," he drawled. He pried her arms off.

I looked around the tiny cabin. There wasn't a sink. There wasn't a bathroom. There was no TV. Practically all it had was a couch, some chairs, a small bed off in a room to the side, and a storage closet. The room was lit up by candles sitting on an old, oak kitchen table and a lantern hung near the window.

"Max!" Mom called as she hurried over.

"Where's Kale?" Mrs. Arbrown asked meekly. Mom looked at me with worried eyes.

"Gwen got hurt..." I started.

"Oh gosh they're dead!" Sylvia cried.

"No no no, they took Gwen to the hospital..." I tried to explain.

"Was it that bad?!" Wailed Mrs. Arbrown.

"Trisha, please calm down I'm sure they're fine..." Mom tried to calm the distressed woman.

"Gwen was tortured," Melee said tersely. A hush fell over the room. "She lost a lot of blood, so they took her to be looked at."

Trisha and Sylvia stared wide eyes at Melee.

"Sparks died," 24 said grumpily, "She..."

Gazzy wrapped his arms around the girl and she began to cry silently into his shoulder. I gave a nod to my little trooper, thanking him for being so considerate.

There was a sigh of contentment somewhere behind me. I turned around to look at the couch where Hillbilly flopped down. Nudge giggled and took of his hat, setting it on the back of the couch. She then slipped his boots off and sat down beside him, putting his head in her lap.

"Um..." I started to protest, but Mom started to scold me.

"Let that poor boy sleep! He's been up cooking and running errands! Those babies didn't give him any rest! He had to walk two towns over to get them some formula!"

I glanced down at Ava, deciding that I'd leave Nudge alone for now. Ava started to doze off, but she kept refusing. She reached for Fang and he gave a small smirk. He passed over Eva and I gave him Ava. Eva held up her little hands, trying to grab my hair. Her eyes were brown like mine, but when I looked down in them I could see Fang's deep depth to them, too.

"I'm an aunt!" Ella said, trying out the new word.

"Aunt Ells," Iggy teased.

"Uncle Igs," Ella shot back.

"Wait! Are we their aunts and uncles?" Gazzy asked, referring to the entire Flock. I looked at his bright, blue orbs and my heart ached.

"Of coarse!" I exclaimed, "You all have been here from the start!" Angel and Nudge grinned, and I know Nudge wanted to start screaming.

"Oh my gosh! That means that I'm like your half sister, so technically me and Flair-," I nodded, stopping Alex.

"Wait! You're related?" Mom and Ella asked in unison.

I gave a whimpy smile and just shrugged. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Flair or Alex; I just don't like Brigid.

Then I spotted Sylvia staring down at her shoes, standing behind Trisha silently. I nudged Fang and he looked at me like I was wild. I just simply pointed over at Sylvia. He bit his lip before going back to showing exactly no emotion. He passed Ava to Angel like she was a delicate vase.

Fang went over to Sylvia and tapped on her shoulder. She glanced up, but quickly looked back down.

"Don't," she spat, brushing past Fang, "Gwen already told me to leave you alone." I saw the kid's lip quiver. She moved to a window and stared out, trying to choke back sobs.

'_She's scared; scared that's she's going to loose another brother. She sees Dan in Fang, and Gwen already warned her to not bother Fang.._.' Angel thought to me, she glanced up from cradling Ava to give me a small frown. Fang stood there like he didn't know what was wrong.

'_She saw Carl, I mean Eris, when the house got attacked_,' Angel explained.

"Oh no..." I mumbled. Fang glanced over at me and I shook my head. I looked back over at Sylvia. 24 walked up beside her.

"Hi..." 24 whispered.

"Hey, I'm Sylvia."

"I know."

"Don't you have a name?"

"Twenty-four, Experiment twenty-four."

Sylvia stared at her, flabbergasted.

"Well, we need to fix that!"

"How?"

"Um, twenty-four is how many hours are in a day, and you control light..."

24 nodded.

"In Latin the translation of 'the light of day' is lucem diem, and that sounds kinda like Lucy Dee. How's that?" Sylvia asked, glancing up at 24, who's jaw dropped as she nodded vigorously. I too was amazed by the girls smarts.

"Alright, nice to meet you, _Lucy Dee,_" Sylvia grinned as they shook hands.

"She's a straight A honor student," Trisha whispered to me. I closed my jaw.

Hillbilly was now asleep, his shotgun tucked under his arm with one in the chamber. Bo curled up to the left of the couch and Jes cuddled with the big beast.

"The car ran out of gas, so he had to walk a long way to get those babies something to eat," Mom explained, "He also said that his mother sold their farm and that the School came back to clean up the mess we left..."

They came back?! We could be in danger right now!

"Shut up!" Selene growled as she shoved Ryan, who bumped into Jace; causing him to fall and knock over a chair. Hillbilly bolted up out of sleep. Nudge squeaked in surprise and stopped combing her fingers through his hair as he grabbed for the gun. It cocked and he looked around, dazed. His breathing slowed and he tossed the weapon aside and rubbed his face.

"I'm sorry, it's just since those things came I've been a little...paranoid," he chuckled, "I guess I should make you all some food!" He moved to the tiny closet and pulled out some canned food.

- 23 hours later-

We've been here since 4:00 p.m. yesterday! It's now somewhere around three o'clock and I'm stressing. We haven't heard anything from the ones that took Gwen to the hospital. How are we supposed to know if they made it? Are they ok? Did the Dark Angels take them back?

I sighed and leaned back in this stupid lounge chair. Ava and Eva had just finished their bottles and were sleeping peacefully in a makeshift crib; also known as a drawer. Fang rubbed my shoulders and I groaned again.

"Bad day?" He asked with a smirk.

"Ha, I wish it were as simple as the Brady Bunch," I snorted.

"Do you think they're ok?" He asked in a hushed tone.

Before I had time to answer I heard Iggy shout.

"YOU CHEATED!"

"Did not!" Gazzy defended.

"Guys, it's just Monopoly..." Sylvia tried to calm them.

"I was winning!" Iggy yelled.

"You were not!" Ryan shook his head.

"Shut the heck up, morons! I was obviously in the lead!" Selene snarled as she moved her piece.

"I can't remember if I was the car or the hat...?" Jace mumbled.

"I was the car!" Jester announced.

"What?! I thought I was the car!" Hillbilly scratched the back of his head.

"I was the thimble, because it has something to do with designing! It's for old women, so they don't poke their thumb with the needle when they're sew-" Nudge ranted.

"Wait! Where did my secret stash go?!" Angel cut her off.

"Iggy, stop stealing my cash!" Ella wailed.

"I'm not!"

"Guys! It's just a board game, calm yourselves!" Alex ordered.

"I passed _GO_, give me my money!" Lucy Dee demanded.

The group kept fussing until Melee simply walked up and tipped the table over, sending the game tumbling to the floor.

"There," she said simply as she returned to trying to fix the small radio. That's when a voice shouted from the ancient box.

"AND THE BIRD GIRL IS WALKING OUT OF THE HOSPITAL! UNBELIEVABLE!"

"_TURN UP THE VOLUME!_" I hurried.

"No dip," Melee grumbled.

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**Short, I know, but I wanted to thank you all for your amazing reviews! :) thanks so much! I was so excited that Actress4TheLord updated her story _Meet Coral _that I was like :O. And I kinda had no homework tonight, so here's the chapter, and give a round of applause to Actress4TheLord. Anyway, Im still really amazed by your guys reviews. I was absolutely stunned. I'm here to say that I plan on releasing a sequel over my Christmas break (probably after I post my new _short _story_)_ . Everyone will be older. It's going to be like a 2nd generation sequel, so people with characters that arin currently in a relationship maybe send in a kid OC for your character? Anyways, sorry for the long A/N. only one chapter to go, and then there's the epilogue. This story flew by fast! **

**R&R**


	73. Start Anew

**Start Anew**

"This is truly a stunner, folks. The politics are speechless, leaving unanswered questions floating above the ocean of lies here. How could this happen to children? Did the Capitol know? What is our President hiding?"

"One of the bird freaks is in critical condition. The nurses and doctors at Mangrary Grove Hospital are sworn into secrecy, but rumors are slipping out. It's said that this girl, this being, is not expected to live until morning. A laboratory has already been selected to dissect the mutated child..."

"It's said that there are more of these bird children inside Mangrary Grove Hospital with the injured girl at this time. The exact number remains uncertain, but the estimate is at least eight. Yes, there's almost nine of these beings in this small, rural hospital. It was said that they arrived at 1:23p.m. Monday, September eighteenth."

"Are these the same children that did the air shows for the CSM, the ones that fled from that restaurant in New York?"

"Are they aliens?"

"It's said that the CSM is stepping in..."

"I'm getting word that another set of bird kids are being put under security and the CSM is welcoming them into their facilities."

"After laying low for so many years the famous bird freaks have resurfaced again!"

"We are waiting on word about the health of the female mutant that was whisked into Mangrary Grove Hospital yesterday evening..."

Someone was repeatedly changing channels, adding to my throbbing headache. I was sore all over and I could feel something in my arm. My eyelids forced themselves open, to my discomfort. I fidgeted and glanced straight up at a smooth, white ceiling. The antiseptic smell hit me first, making me hold my breath and tense. Slowly, I looked to my right and saw a welcoming form resting in a cushioned chair, flipping through the channels. He wasn't looking at me, which was ok. At least I knew that I wasn't in that dreaded, gut churning place.

"Do you all always...smile?" I heard a deeper voice ask. It must have been Gloom.

"Duh," Kale chuckled.

"I'm so bored!" Gazzy 2 whined.

"I wish those darn reporters would go away," Ebony sighed.

"I wish they'd stop talking about us on TV," Flair grumbled.

"Come on, you gotta love the fame," Storm said.

"Strange," Night's chilling voice echoed, "the staff here don't seem to sure of themselves."

"It's just because they're taking care of a multimillion dollar experiment," Ice spat, "I hate it when they talk about us like we're material!"

"They're saying Gwen won't make it till morning..." Kale whispered. Then there was a silence.

"I'm sure she's going to be fine," Ebony mused.

"Yah, I mean, it just a cracked rib and tore some muscles," Storm joined in.

"And a broken nose," Flair reminded.

"And a major loss of blood," Ice added.

"And there's a chance that she might have a major concision along with the fact that she's developing tetanus from the metal on her wings..." Gloom started to list things.

"How bad is it really, Gloom?" I joked, my voice drawled and hoarse.

"Gwen!" Kale shrieked. I smiled up at him and he wrapped me in a hug, his arms wielding his super strength again.

"I love you," I whispered randomly into his chest. He pulled back, tears threatening to pour from his rich, brown eyes.

He quickly climbed on the bed and straddled me. Kale's lips smashed into mine. I almost screamed in shock, but I melted right there in his arms, like chocolate left out on a hot summer day. I didn't think he was going to let me go. My arms came up and I got my hands caught in fists around his shirt. The IV fell out of my arm and all the pain ceased. Just for a moment I was in heaven, paradise, and he** all at once. There wasn't a world anymore; there wasn't anyone outside wanting to kill me or shove a camera in my face. There wasn't a fight to live anymore. It was just me and Kale with nothing between us and no questions to be confronted. It was just a moment of peace where I realized no matter what I had a pair of arms to run to and someone to stand next to me in the darkest days. I didn't care anymore if I had a purpose or a destination because from what I could tell I didn't want to be anywhere but here. Even when I had no where to turn I still had Kale there to back me up and, sometimes, push me forward. For a split second there was no death, no life, no end, no beginning, no morals, no right, no wrong, and no hurt; it was just us. But like all good things in this world, it had to come to an end. Flair shoved Kale off the bed and he hit the bleached floor with a dull thud.

"Don't kill her!" Flair yelled playfully.

Kale hurried to his feet and started bickering with Flair.

I stole a glance up at the small hospital TV mounted to the wall. There was a woman standing there shouting insults about us. Another man said he wanted us exterminated; we weren't human to him. I forced myself from the bed, ignoring the persistent pain, and made my way to the door.

"Uh, Gwen?" Storm called. I had already made my way out to the hallway and was now making a mad dash to the door, my anger flaring. I erupted from the doors of the hospital and marched strait towards the closest reported. The others tried to catch up with me, but I had already spun a woman around. She quit yelling about me exciting the building and stared at me with straight up fear.

"My name is Gwen Orksmith," I snarled. The woman gulped and held the microphone closer to me, shaking slightly. I smirked and jerked it from her hands, holding it under my mouth. Everything went quiet for a little while. They were all in pure shock.

"Yes, I have wings, but I also have a personality, a pulse beneath my wrist, and a heart under my ribs. I am no animal, yet some do venture to label me as a freak. When I was ten I was kidnapped and forced to live in a dog crate. Everyday I was subjected to inhumane tests where they spliced my DNA with that of a bird's. I was tested and put into mazes, being chased everyday by beefy men that you all would call a werewolf. I was tortured and left to starve and die many days, but I had it easy. There are several other children who have been put through worse, and are still being put through the tests. I stand here today as an escapee, and I warn you, as I have my other enemies, don't touch my family. I don't want to be dissected; I have feelings. I came from a human embryo and I feel and mostly act human, as do the members of my family. Please respect our rights as you take in what you see. I have battled to live my life, and I'm still fighting, so I won't give up easily if you plan on taking me apart for scientific _curiosity_. Thank you for your interest, but I ask for you to keep your nose out of my business and please stop with the threats. Thank you," I said into the mic before I passed it back. The woman stared at me with wide, fearful eyes.

"M-May we see you wings?" She tried politely. I unfolded them from under my back and extended them, causing her to duck to get out of the way. They had replaced the arc of my wing with a thick metal and I soon doubted if I would be able to fly again. She touched it, as if my wings weren't really there. I folded them back in to my spine and stared at her. She gawked back, amazed.

"My name is Kale Arbrown!" Of coarse. He popped up beside of me.

"Um...do you have anything to add, _Kale_?" Another reporter asked.

"I want to live," he stated, "Oh, and I want to watch the new episode of Family Guy!"

"Sir, can you tell us what happened to your eyes?!" Someone asked Gloom. He batted the camera away from his face, accidentally knocking it to the ground. The lens broke and everyone scurried back, wide eyed. Night slapped Gloom's forearm and silently scolded him. He bowed his head and whimpered like a scared animal. In a bat of an eye a uniformed man marched forward and grabbed me by the arm, yanking me back.

"Don't you dare manhandle her!" Kale growled, pushing the man. That's when the sound of many heavy boots echoed, like a stampede. Armed guys bounded forward, dressed head to toe in black with 'SWAT' wrote clearly across the front of their bulletproof vests. Yah, I think we're screwed.

"My name is Tom! I work for the CSM!" He hollered in my ear.

"We've gotten a call from a certain Martinez saying to bring you in!" He continued, pulling me back behind the hospital where a giant black helicopter waited.

"Where are we going?!" I asked over the sound of the crowd and the propellers chopping through the air.

"You're going to shake the President's hand!" He gave a big grin.

"So you're saying I can have a pony and a sparkly sweater?" Kale asked as they shoved him into the helicopter. The man holding him sighed and nodded. They had to literally shove the Dark Angels into the chopper; they protested the whole way.

"Are you serious about the whole 'meet the President' thing?!" I questioned. Tom laughed.

"Yes, you're kinda known world-wide now."

I climbed into the helicopter with butterflies swarming deep in my stomach. I waved at the reporters below as the machine took to the air. I still felt sick and tired, but I was alive. That's all that mattered, as long as we all were alive and together. This is my life, and I think it was just turned into a public news story.

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**Ok, next chapter is the epilogue!**

**•REVIEW!**

**•Send in OC's for your character's child!**


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